President Biden will meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday, a diplomatic decision for one of America’s most important allies amid tensions between the Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
White House officials said Mr. Mr Biden described the meeting with Herzog as an opportunity to strengthen the already “ironclad” relationship between the two countries. He said the two leaders would discuss preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as part of the White House, which he called its “unwavering commitment” to Israel’s security.
But declarations of mutual respect have masked tensions between the two governments that have grown in recent years, as Mr. Mr. Biden on Israeli settlements Netanyahu is increasingly frustrated by his positions and efforts to overhaul the nation’s judicial system.
On Monday, Mr. Biden ended months of delay in paying Mr. Netanyahu a formal visit to the United States. After the pair spoke on the phone, Mr. Biden also invited the prime minister to meet him in the United States, possibly before the end of the year — not necessarily at the White House.
A largely ceremonial position in Israel’s government, Mr. Herzog’s Tuesday visit with Mr. It is an opportunity for Mr. Biden to express his commitment to the Middle Eastern country without delivering the political benefits of a White House visit to Netanyahu.
Israel is a central US ally in the Middle East and receives billions of dollars in aid each year. White House officials said Mr. Biden plans to emphasize areas of cooperation, including the normalization of relations with other Middle Eastern countries and diplomatic efforts with the Palestinians.
Mr. Herzog, who ran against Mr. Netanyahu nearly a decade ago, is seen by some supporters in the United States as an effort to find middle ground in Israel’s fraught political climate as a welcome change from some extremist elements. Government of the country.
But his visit had created a controversy before Tuesday. Several liberal lawmakers said they would boycott Mr. Herzog’s planned speech to Congress on Wednesday to protest Mr. Netanyahu’s government.
Earlier this month, Mr. Biden is Mr. Calling Netanyahu’s cabinet “extremely extremist,” he acknowledged anger among many progressives with the prime minister’s policies in effect — what he saw in decades of foreign policy engagement with Israel.
White House officials said Tuesday that Mr. Biden has voiced his concern about the Israeli government’s expansion of settlements, which the administration considers an obstacle to an eventual two-state solution with Israel alongside a Palestinian state.
Officials said Mr. Biden would express his dismay to Mr. Herzog over Netanyahu’s efforts to make changes to the judicial system that critics say would weaken the authority of Israel’s Supreme Court.
“We want to see Israel as vibrant as possible and as democratic as possible,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John F. “And that means you build programs and changes based on improvements and adjustments.”
But officials said the president’s meeting with Mr. Herzog in the Oval Office would seek to underscore the history of friendship that has characterized relations between the two countries since Israel’s creation.
“As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, the visit highlights our enduring partnership and friendship,” a White House statement said. “The two leaders will discuss opportunities to deepen Israel’s regional integration and create a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East.”
