Israel and the United States meet to establish smooth relations under a new government
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and the United States sought to smooth relations between their countries Wednesday in the allies’ first meeting since Israel’s new ultranationalist government, its most right-wing ever, assumed power.
Israel’s ceremonial president Isaac Herzog hosted Jake Sullivan (National Security Adviser) in Jerusalem a few days before Sullivan’s scheduled meeting with Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu. All of the discussions were watched by Hovering Over. the new government’s policy changes This directly conflicts with President Joe Biden’s efforts for better lives of Palestinians, and to stop Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu’s new government of ultranationalists, ultra-Orthodox, and ultranationalists poses a huge problem for the Biden Administration and has revealed the truth. divisions between the U.S. and its top Mideast ally Both countries are dealing with the Russian invasion and threat from Iran, their archrivals.
“You are coming at the right time, as we meet so many challenges together,” Herzog said, addressing Sullivan, who noted that Biden wants to visit Israel again after his first trip as president last summer.
There are delicate dynamics beneath the niceties, with the agendas and priorities of the two countries diverging in important ways.
U.S. diplomats have been irritated by Netanyahu’s coalition government since its inception. The visit of an extremist Cabinet minister to a Jerusalem holy place raised concerns about Jewish settlement expansions on Palestinian land. Many Israelis are critical of Netanyahu’s Cabinet’s plans to make major changes in Israel’s judiciary system. Tens of thousands protested last weekend against the proposed overhaul.
Israeli leaders this week meeting with Sullivan and a U.S. Senate delegation have sought to focus on what Netanyahu called, “the potential for tightening cooperation” on Israeli-Arab accords and Iran policy.
Biden’s national security staff is not happy with the first moves of the new government. They want to shift the focus away from the Middle East towards rivals such as China and Russia.
Moscow’s reluctance to be antagonized by Israel shadowed Wednesday’s meetings. The military confirmed that American equipment in Israel had been moved a few week ago without naming the location. Following a New York Times report, the statement said that the U.S. had sent the munitions from the United States to Ukraine for use during the war against Russia.
The report was an antidote to Israel’s position on the Russian invasion. Netanyahu has developed a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Israel is keen to remain largely neutral in the war to protect its strategic relationship and relations with the Kremlin. Russia has troops stationed on the Syrian border, which is a frequent target for Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but it has refused Kyiv’s frequent requests to send air defense systems and other military equipment. It has also resisted imposing economic sanctions on Russia, and those Russian-Jewish Oligarchs who live in Israel as second homes.
But with news of Moscow’s deepening ties with Tehran, pressure is growing on Israel to back Ukraine in the grinding war.