TheMediaLine
WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO CHANGE THE MISINFORMATION
about the
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR?
Netanyahu and Biden Finally Spoke, but the 2 Leaders May Be Far From Reaching Agreement
Then-US Vice President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu shake hands while giving joint statements at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, March 9, 2016. (Debbie Hill/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu and Biden Finally Spoke, but the 2 Leaders May Be Far From Reaching Agreement

Maariv, Israel, February 23

President Joe Biden’s first phone call with a Middle Eastern leader was with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The call was neither a small talk conversation nor an introductory meeting since the two men are old acquaintances. Instead, this was a serious one-hour political discussion between allied leaders on important geopolitical issues. According to the White House, the conversation revolved around “strengthening relations and cooperation between the two countries, with an emphasis on regional security issues including Iran.” It’s likely that the Abraham Accords between Israel and the Arab states were also discussed, and Biden’s support for them was a signal to Tehran that the new Israeli-Arab alliance is based on solid foundations. It is clear that the Palestinian issue also came up – and even though President Biden isn’t planning on launching a peace plan like his predecessors, he would at the very least like to see confidence-building measures implemented by Netanyahu vis-à-vis the Palestinian leadership. Hady Amr, the newly appointed deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, claimed that the goal was to “improve the situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and build trust between the parties from the bottom up.” However, it was clear that the main and most urgent issue that came up during the call was the nuclear agreement with Iran. Although the conversation was conducted in a good spirit, it remains unlikely that the two leaders managed to see eye to eye on this issue. Israel’s position is clear: the original agreement is bad and dangerous both in terms of what was in it and in terms of what is missing in it. It allowed Iran to covertly enhance its nuclear capabilities and it did not address Tehran’s aggressive and subversive terrorist activity in the region. Israel was right to clarify its position in the early hours of the new administration, thus positioning itself as a factor that the Biden Administration could not ignore, unlike the Obama Administration at the time. As reported, the prime minister was scheduled to convene a special discussion on the Iranian issue last week but canceled it following his conversation with President Biden. Is this a sign that there is an agreed-upon basis on the Iranian issue, or does it actually reflect the exact opposite: a complete disagreement between the two leaders? US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, for example, is in favor of extending the original agreement to include issues such as missiles and human rights violations in Iran. However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered far more conciliatory remarks, when he claimed that the US would welcome “any” opportunity to negotiate with Iran. Therefore, the conversation between Biden and Netanyahu was probably a good one. It was necessary for kickstarting relations with the new US administration and putting Israeli-American relations on a positive path following Trump’s departure from office. However, the call was far from a guarantee that all disagreements and disputes between the two sides had been resolved. Whether or not the two leaders – President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu – have turned a new page in their long-lasting relationship remains to be seen. –Zalman Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the United States (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

TheMediaLine
WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO CHANGE THE MISINFORMATION
about the
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR?
Personalize Your News
Upgrade your experience by choosing the categories that matter most to you.
Click on the icon to add the category to your Personalize news
Browse Categories and Topics