US President Joe Biden still plans to visit Israel next month, despite the coalition’s collapse, US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides said Monday.
“He is coming,” he said. “As we have said, he is coming for the Israeli people.”
The US National Security Council Spokesperson said: "We have a strategic relationship with Israel that goes beyond any one government. The President looks forward to the visit next month."
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who will become prime minister after the Knesset’s dissolution, last week said he was certain “the president will be here, no matter what.”
“The president’s relationship with Israel is way more important, significant and long-lasting than any political event,” Lapid said. “The US is our greatest ally and the most important partnership and friendship we have.”
“The US is our greatest ally and the most important partnership and friendship we have.”
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid
Read more on the dissolution of the Knesset and the upcoming elections:
- The announcement that Knesset will be dissolved, Lapid will become prime minister
- Israeli politicians react to the news
- Biden will visit Israel despite the political turmoil
- What are Naftali Bennett’s political options after he leaves PMO?
Beyond the usual meetings with Israeli leaders, Biden’s agenda includes a visit to an Iron Dome battery at the Palmahim air base, where he will highlight his work with Congress to secure $1 billion to replenish the missile-defense system.
The Defense Ministry plans to demonstrate its Iron Beam laser interception system, which shoots down rockets, missiles and drones, while Biden is at the Palmahim air base.
Biden also plans to visit Makassed Hospital, the largest Palestinian medical center in Jerusalem. He will do so unaccompanied by Israeli officials, which could be viewed as not recognizing Israel’s sovereignty in that part of the city, near the historic Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.