Concerned by Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms, Biden has withheld an invite to the White House and the pair will instead meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly of New York.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that one focus of the talks would be the “shared democratic values between the United States and Israel.”
Those values have looked anything but shared recently, with Democrat Biden describing Netanyahu’s hard-right government as “one of the most extremist” in Israeli history.
Relations between Netanyahu and the Biden administration have been rocky ever since the Israeli leader made his political comeback at the head of a coalition of hard-right and ultra-Orthodox parties in December.
Biden has strongly criticized Netanyahu’s bid to reform the judiciary, which opponents describe as a threat to democracy in Israel and a step toward authoritarianism.
Israeli artists and intellectuals including writer David Grossman recently wrote an open letter urging Biden not to meet Netanyahu – an issue for the Democratic president, who needs the liberal establishment onside ahead of elections next year.
In a seeming snub to Netanyahu, Biden in July hosted the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, a political moderate, in the Oval Office.
There was even a squabble earlier this year after Netanyahu said he had been invited to the White House – but the White House then said merely that the pair would meet “in the United States.”
Ties have been further strained by the Israeli government’s expansion of Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
But despite the tensions between Biden and Netanyahu, there has been no real sign of the United States loosening long-term support for the Jewish state, its key ally in the Middle East.
The White House’s Sullivan hinted as much, saying that Netanyahu and Biden would discuss a “vision for a more stable and prosperous and integrated region.”
The leaders would also “compare notes on effectively countering and deterring Iran,” another key topic for a US administration keen to counter Tehran’s regional presence and nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu met tech tycoon Elon Musk on Monday, urging him to fight anti-Semitism on his X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington for an official visit at a date to be determined, the prime minister’s office said.
The invitation was extended during a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu, a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Netanyahu returned to power more than six months ago, but Biden had pointedly declined to issue an invitation until long after most Israeli prime ministers would have made the visit.
Amid escalating West Bank violence, the right-wing Israeli government’s actions authorizing settler outposts and inflammatory comments from a member of Netanyahu’s cabinet with responsibilities over Jewish settlements had drawn criticism from US officials, including from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to Israel in March.
Netanyahu told Biden he would try to form “broad public consensus” on legislation in Israel that would strip its highest court of much of its powers, the statement said. The legislation has prompted anti-government protests in Israel for months.
The two leaders shared a “long and warm” conversation, the Israeli statement said, focused on curbing threats from Iran and its proxies and strengthening the alliance between the two countries.
