US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel yesterday afternoon in what was the first visit to his main ally in the Middle East since he took office. Among the many fronts on his agenda, the priority is building bridges between the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia, one of the largest Sunni Arab powers in the region. After the signing of the Abraham Accords, promoted by the Trump administration, Biden's will is to strengthen a new geostrategic axis that will mean the consolidation of a common front against Iran.
The president will today strengthen his military alliance with the signing of the Jerusalem Declaration together with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who temporarily took office after the dissolution of the coalition led by his partner Naftalí Bennett. It was Lapid himself, along with President Isaac Herzog, who received the US leader at the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport. “It is an honor to be with my friends again and to visit the independent state of Israel. The connection between the Israeli and American people is very deep,” Biden said. And he continued: "You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist."
The Democratic leader recalled that this is his tenth official visit to Israel. The first was in 1973, when Golda Meir was Prime Minister. Alongside him, Lapid reminded him that "his relationship with Israel was always very personal," and claimed the shared values of both nations: "Democracy, freedom, and the right of the Jewish people to self-determination." The acting premier stressed the importance of building a "new Middle East" and the urgency of strengthening a "global coalition" to neutralize the Iranian nuclear plan. Biden avoided mentioning the word Iran upon his arrival, as it creates divided opinions. Although Biden continues to bet on resuming the nuclear pact with Tehran – from which Trump withdrew – Israel insists on the urgency of applying more sanctions. According to the International Atomic Energy Organization, this week Iran increased its uranium enrichment to levels unprecedented since 2015, and some analysts believe that it already has enough capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Following the opening remarks, Biden went straight to visit an Iron Dome missile battery jointly developed by the two countries' militaries. Then his retinue headed for Jerusalem. At Yad Vashem, the museum in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, Biden listened attentively to the testimony of two elderly survivors of the Nazi genocide. In addition to emphasizing the importance of educating about the atrocities of World War II, he vowed to "fight anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head."
Biden insisted that, although Israel is once again immersed in an electoral process, this will not influence the decision-making of the White House. In fact, he will also meet with opposition leader Beniamín Netanyahu, who aspires to return to power in November. During his 48-hour stay, the US president will fly by helicopter over the West Bank separation wall to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abas in Bethlehem, and on Friday he will fly to Yida (Saudi Arabia), where he will participate in a forum of Gulf countries Persian. US sources advanced that Biden will make a significant announcement regarding relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
