White House announces Biden trip to Israel, West Bank and Saudi Arabia July 13-16

The White Home on Tuesday introduced the dates for US President Joe Biden’s extremely anticipated first journey to the Center East, which can embrace stops in Israel, the West Financial institution and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to July 16.

Biden accepted an invite to go to Israel in late April. The journey was initially deliberate for late June, however was later delayed to July over what the White Home mentioned have been scheduling points. In line with an Israeli official, these scheduling points associated to the Saudi leg of the journey, which was a later addition that uncovered the president to criticism from some Democrats, who anticipated him to take care of a agency stance in opposition to Riyadh over its human rights report.

The journey will start in Israel, the place the president will meet with Israeli leaders, White Home Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned in an announcement. An Israeli official instructed The Occasions of Israel that Biden will meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President Isaac Herzog, International Minister Yair Lapid and Protection Minister Benny Gantz. The official added that Biden can also be slated to go to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and East Jerusalem.

A senior Biden administration official briefing reporters on Thursday mentioned the president would doubtless tour a US-funded missile protection system in Israel as a way to spotlight White Home efforts to safe a further $1 billion in funding for Iron Dome battery replenishments after the Might 2021 Gaza warfare. Biden can even “talk about new improvements between our nations that use laser applied sciences to defeat missiles and different airborne threats.”

The administration official mentioned the Israel go to can even deal with the Jewish state’s “rising integration into the area by way of the Abraham Accords — normalization agreements Jerusalem signed with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco — by way of the strengthening of Israel’s ties with Israel and Egypt and thru the creation of a brand new discussion board established by the Biden administration that features the US, the UAE, Israel and India — the I2U2.”

Whereas in Israel, Biden will take part in a digital summit of the I2U2 alongside Bennett, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and Indian President Narendra Modi, the US official mentioned, in what can be the highest-level gathering of the discussion board thus far. The leaders will talk about “the meals safety disaster and different areas of cooperation throughout hemispheres the place the UAE and Israel function vital innovation hubs.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken takes half in a Zoom name with the International Ministers of Israel, India and the UAE on October 18 2021 (State Division)

Biden’s journey can even coincide with the opening of the Maccabiah Video games, which brings collectively Jewish athletes from world wide to Israel for an Olympic-like competitors and is being held for the the primary time since 2017. The president might have the chance to fulfill with a few of the individuals, the senior US official mentioned.

“He has a lifelong connection to the nation and has charged [all of us with making] positive we’re doing all we are able to to strengthen Israel safety, prosperity and integration into the bigger area — each now and over the long term.,” the US official added.

Biden will then journey to the West Financial institution, the place he’ll meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and different Palestinian leaders. These conferences will doubtless happen in Bethlehem, the US official mentioned.

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Regardless of Biden restoring ties with the PA and asserting the restoration of half a billion {dollars} in help that had been nearly fully reduce by his predecessor, Ramallah has grown more and more pissed off with the Democratic president’s failure to observe by way of on his guarantees to reopen missions for the Palestinians in Jerusalem and Washington.

The administration official mentioned Biden and Abbas would talk about “the methods through which we would rekindle a brand new political horizon that may guarantee equal measures of freedom, safety, prosperity and dignity to Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

The PA has been pushing for extra discuss on diplomatic initiatives as its reputation amongst Palestinians continues to plummet, whereas the Hamas terror group has been emboldened in current months, capitalizing on intense clashes on the Temple Mount.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Close to Jap Affairs Barbara Leaf (L) meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the latter’s workplace in Ramallah on June 11, 2022. (State Division/Twitter)

Israel has argued that the perimeters are usually not prepared for high-stakes negotiations over a two-state answer, with the ruling coalition led by Bennett — an opponent of Palestinian statehood — barely holding on and with the PA notably weakened in Ramallah.

The US has appeared inclined to agree with Israel whereas arguing {that a} political horizon ought to nonetheless be maintained and nurtured in order that the perimeters can in the future be prepared for such talks. It has been notably important of unilateral steps by either side that complicate prospects for a two-state answer.

The administration official instructed reporters Thursday that the president’s go to to the West Financial institution would be the “begin of what we hope might be new and reinvigorated dialogue — each between america and the PA but additionally between the PA and regional capitals and, most significantly, [the PA and] Israelis.”

Biden will then fly straight from Israel to Jedda — a not often used route that requires Saudi approval and represents a tiny step towards normalization with the Jewish state. Whereas in Jedda, he’ll take part within the annual GCC+3 summit with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar along with Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.

Requested if Biden will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, whom US intelligence fingered as answerable for authorizing the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the administration official mentioned, “We are able to count on the president to see the crown prince.”

The conferences in Saudi Arabia will cowl the UN-mediated truce in Yemen, increasing regional financial and safety cooperation, deterring threats from Iran, advancing human rights and making certain international power and meals safety, the official mentioned.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, proper, and Saudi International Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud converse to reporters on the State Division in Washington, Oct. 14, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool by way of AP)

“I believe the president will talk about some fairly revolutionary initiatives we’ve got ongoing in CENTCOM within the Pink Sea — some distinctive naval process forces, which we’ll talk about on the safety aspect,” the official mentioned. Biden officers are reportedly working to kind a joint protection infrastructure between Israel and its Arab neighbors in opposition to Iran.

The US has additionally reportedly been brokering talks between Saudi Arabia and Egypt aimed toward finalizing an settlement to switch the Pink Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir from Cairo to Riyadh.

The islands function prominently within the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace settlement and the switch would require a level of Israeli help. Because of this, the US and Israel are reportedly pushing Riyadh to take a sequence of small steps towards full normalization with Jerusalem in trade for Israel’s compliance with the island switch.

Biden mentioned Sunday that his go to to Saudi Arabia can even deal with Israel’s nationwide safety.

Folks maintain posters of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, close to the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, October 2, 2020, marking the two-year anniversary of his loss of life (AP Photograph/Emrah Gurel, File)

Requested whether or not Biden will increase the Khashoggi homicide throughout his conferences with Saudi officers, the Biden administration official mentioned Monday that the US isn’t ignoring conduct that came about earlier than the president entered workplace. Nonetheless, such discussions will happen behind closed doorways.

After vowing throughout his presidential marketing campaign to deal with Saudi Arabia like a “pariah state,” Biden has extra just lately labored to heat ties with Riyadh in opposition to the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. US-led worldwide sanctions in opposition to Moscow have led to dramatic spikes in oil prices again house and Washington has been pushing the Saudis to assist compensate by producing extra oil to interchange the sanctioned Russian crude.

The administration official highlighted the current determination by the Group of Petroleum Exporting International locations, the place Riyadh is a number one member, to boost its deliberate provide will increase this summer season by 50 %.