President Biden Not Expected to Call Riyadh, Will Call Netanyahu ‘Soon’

The count continues as Israelis run out of nails to bite, waiting by the phone for US President Joe Biden to call. On Saturday, Israeli Ambassador to the United States and to the UN Gilad Erdan projected the anticipated call would happen any day now, insisting the near monthlong disconnect between the leader of the free world and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was not a harbinger of bad news for the two countries’ relations. White House press secretary Jen Psaki, meanwhile, over the weekend said the president “looks forward” to speaking with Netanyahu. “He’s obviously somebody that he has a long-standing relationship with,” Psaki added. Another US ally still sitting by the phone is Saudi Arabia, though Psaki noted Washington’s relationship with Riyadh is starkly different than the one it holds with Jerusalem. “Obviously, there’s a review of our policy as it relates to Saudi Arabia,” she said Friday. “There’s not a call planned that I’m aware of.” President Biden has vowed to come down hard on Saudi Arabia for its human rights violations over the years, announcing a halt in US support of the Saudi operations in Yemen’s civil war.