On Monday, US Vice President and potential future President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington for an official visit at a future date.
During a phone call, Biden extended the offer to Netanyahu, one day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog was scheduled to arrive in Washington.
While other Israeli prime ministers would have visited the U.S. by the time Netanyahu returned to power more than six months ago, Biden purposefully delayed issuing an invitation until after Netanyahu’s return.
While visiting Israel in March, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin voiced his displeasure with the right-wing Israeli government’s actions authorizing settler outposts and the inflammatory comments made by a member of Netanyahu’s cabinet responsible for Jewish settlements.
According to the statement, Netanyahu assured Biden he would work to garner “broad public consensus” in Israel in favor of measures that would significantly limit the authority of the country’s highest court. Israelis have been protesting the government for months due to the legislation.
According to the Israeli statement, during their “long and warm” chat, the two leaders discussed ways to counter Iran’s influence operations and agreed to deepen their alliance. A statement from the White House on the US perspective on the call was expected later.
