US President Joe Biden as part of his Middle East official tour arrived in Israel on Wednesday where he was warmly welcomed by Israeli Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog.
According to media reports, the Middle East tour is of importance to US in order to persuade Washington’s Gulf allies to pump more oil and make efforts to close ties with Saudi Arabia.
During his speech in Israel, the US president said that the US-Israel relations were bone-deep, reiterating the US desire for stalled negotiations between Israel and Palestine to create a Palestinian state on Israeli occupied territory, calling the two-state solution ‘the best hope’ for both peoples.
Israeli Caretaker PM Lapid called Biden one of Israel’s best friends and said that US President’s relations with Israel had always been personal.
Biden will meet his Palestinian counterpart Mahmood Abbas on Friday during his two-day stay at Jerusalem before flying to Jeddah.
In Jeddah, Biden will participate in the summit of Gulf allies. Upgraded Israeli relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco are expected as a result of the meeting. It would also be important to deepen Israeli integration and countering Iran, Russia and China, international media has reported.
According to US media, the increased gasoline prices have caused a dent in Biden’s standings in public opinion polls; therefore despite having blamed Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the US president will hold talks with him.
Iran, on the other hand, has criticized the trip of the US president, claiming that the visit would not bring any strengthened position to the Zionist regime.
