JERUSALEM – President Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday to begin a trip to the Middle East that his administration hopes will strengthen US ties in the region, but could lead to limited progress on US priorities.
“The bond between the Israeli people and the American people runs deep,” Mr. Biden said shortly after landing at Ben Gurion Airport for his 10th trip to the country in his decades-long career in politics. It was his first visit to Israel as president.
“We are just happy to see you, Mr. President, the simple, genuine joy of seeing a good friend again,” said Yair Lapid, Israel’s caretaker prime minister.
US officials have framed the four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to strengthen ties and promote stability, including by bringing the two countries he is visiting closer together while countering threats from Iran. But the president’s allies worry he could end without significant progress on energy or human rights issues, returning largely empty-handed to the US, where he has struggled with low approval ratings and high prices ahead of midterm elections.
In recent days, White House officials have tried to play down expectations for the trip, saying it could take months or more to reach agreements to address high energy prices and normalize relations between Israel and countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia. Arabia.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters traveling with the president that Mr. Biden intended to “demonstrate material progress” during the trip on issues such as regional security, but he declined to elaborate on how the administration defines success. Mr Sullivan added that the president would discuss ensuring an adequate supply of energy to global markets that is “sustainable over time, meaning spare capacity as part of the equation”.
Air Force One with President Biden aboard taxis at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.
Photo: abir sultan/Shutterstock
Biden administration officials said Mr. Biden was expected to use the first leg of his trip to make announcements on defense and aid to Palestinian hospitals, as well as to highlight the U.S. alliance with Israel.
Mr. Biden came into office promising a sustained focus on China, but Russia’s war in Ukraine has exacerbated the rise in oil prices, shifting attention to the Middle East, which the president had not made a central focus of his foreign policy. After promising during his presidential campaign to make Saudi Arabia a pariah on the world stage, Mr. Biden has increasingly turned his attention to the kingdom, with its powerful influence on global oil markets that have soared since the Ukraine war.
“It’s amazing what an energy crisis will do to your thinking about energy-producing countries,” said Jonathan Schantzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan think tank focused on national security and foreign policy. He described the approach to Saudi Arabia as a return to a “US-Saudi relationship built on American security guarantees in exchange for a steady supply of affordable oil.”
On the first leg of the trip, Mr Biden is due to meet Mr Lapid, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s opposition leader. On Wednesday, he received a briefing on Israel’s missile defense capabilities and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. On Thursday, he will participate in a virtual meeting with the leaders of Israel, India and the United Arab Emirates.
A US official said the Biden administration is expected to announce new talks between the US and Israel to jointly develop the Iron Beam, an experimental laser system intended as a shield against Iran-backed attacks. Mr. Biden also plans to sign a joint U.S.-Israeli declaration this week touting the strategic partnership between the two countries, officials familiar with the matter said. That includes a commitment to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, strengthening regional cooperation and ensuring Israel has a qualitative military advantage in the region, Israeli officials said.
Israel’s experimental air defense system, known as Iron Beam, uses laser technology to shoot down drones and missiles, but military analysts say the device needs US support to improve its performance. The WSJ explains how it works. Photo illustration: Adam Adada
Mr. Biden’s visit is focused less on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than on Israel’s deepening integration with the rest of the Arab world, part of a broader realignment underway in the region. He comes to Israel with a caretaker government in place, with elections scheduled for later this year.
But there were already signs that one of the administration’s most ambitious goals — forming a regional air defense partnership with Israel and other Arab nations designed to protect the countries from threats from Iran — was facing headwinds.
Some of the Arab nations involved in the discussions have expressed concern about the partnership, people familiar with the matter said. Although Israel is working more closely than ever with Arab countries, the nations involved in the negotiations have diverse and often conflicting interests, and key players such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have no formal relations with Israel.
Israeli officials said they hoped the measures taken during Mr Biden’s visit would begin the process of normalizing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
“It’s a very delicate relationship. He is very fragile,” a senior Israeli official said during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.
Israeli police gathered in Jerusalem on Wednesday ahead of President Biden’s arrival.
Photo: menahem kahana/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
One of the signature announcements on the trip is expected to be the transfer of two islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, a long-awaited deal that could include steps toward establishing formal ties between Riyadh and Israel, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Mr Biden will be the first US president to fly directly from Israel to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s second-largest city after the capital, marking a rare direct flight between the two countries. Other US presidents who have traveled directly between the two countries include Donald Trump, who traveled from Riyadh to Israel.
During the trip, Mr. Biden will publicly and privately advocate for progress on human rights and political reform, U.S. officials said, but declined to elaborate on what he would say.
Mr. Sullivan said Mr. Biden would make extending the Yemen ceasefire a priority during the meeting with Saudi officials. “We don’t believe we can put this issue on the back burner because this ceasefire is fragile and it needs to be protected, it needs to be built on,” Mr Sullivan said.
Mr Biden insisted his focus would be the Arab summit, not the meeting with Prince Mohammed.
The White House offered limited details about Mr. Biden’s itinerary in Saudi Arabia. Officials said he will meet with the Saudi leadership, including King Salman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of other Middle Eastern nations. He will also attend a summit of Arab nations, where the White House said he will deliver a speech outlining his vision for the region.
“This is a huge victory for MBS,” said Mr. Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
But White House aides have sought to minimize Mr. Biden’s interactions with the crown prince, sensitive to the perception that he is deferring to a world leader considered toxic by many in Washington. Mr. Biden does not plan to hold a news conference in Saudi Arabia and is expected to avoid public contact with Prince Mohammed, officials said.
Mr Biden faced criticism for the trip, including from within his own party, given Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence concluded was Prince Mohammed. has ordered. Mr Biden has previously refused to deal directly with Prince Mohammed.
During the trip, Mr. Biden will advocate publicly and privately for progress on human rights and political reform, U.S. officials said, but…
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