The new government in Jerusalem and new administration in Washington present an opportunity to bring a “new spirit” to the US-Israel relationship, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday, ahead of his visit to the White House.
Bennett said he is “bringing a new spirit of cooperation” to his meeting with US President Joe Biden, which will “bring the State of Israel and its security great achievements.”
“We will take care of many fronts, especially the Iranian one, especially the jump in the level of the Iranian nuclear program” he added.
Other topics Bennett plans to bring up with Biden are economic matters, hi-tech, innovation, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
With regards to the fourth wave of the coronavirus, Bennett said “I am leaving behind me in Israel hope for stabilization.”
Bennett is set to land in Washington on Tuesday evening, and will meet with Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The prime minister does not plan to meet any members of Congress while in Washington, because of coronavirus restrictions, but he is expected to call some key members.
For the prime minister, the core issue in the meetings is Iran, and he plans to present Biden with a plan following a policy review on the matter, which reached similar conclusions to those of his predecessor.
The plan discusses how to counter Iran’s nuclear program, and regional concessions, in the scenario of the US and Iran returning to the 2015 nuclear deal or not.
Bennett opposes a return to the agreement, because Iran has begun enriching uranium to 60%. The plus sides of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, do not justify lifting US sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which will enable it to increase its regional aggression, a senior diplomatic source said.
The US seeks to return to the JCPOA through talks with Iran, which it conducted indirectly in Vienna in April-June of this year. Iran has refused to return to the negotiating table after electing an extremist President Ebrahim Raisi, who has made repeated anti-Western statements questioning the wisdom of even talking to the US.
Israel has opposed the JCPOA from its inception, because its restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program end in 2030 and it does not address the Islamic Republic’s widespread regional aggression.
The diplomatic source rejected reports that Bennett plans to offer “gestures” to the Palestinians while in Washington, including authorizing the US to open a consulate to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, as Biden has said he would.
However, Bennett does support economic projects to improve the Palestinians’ quality of life.
Bennett will not be staying at Blair House, which is the White House’s guest house, because it is under renovation. His wife, Gilat Bennett, will not be joining him, adhering to the prime minister’s admonition against unnecessary travel abroad during the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier Tuesday, Bennett’s spokesman confirmed that the prime minister is planning a trip to the United Nations next month.
The UN General Assembly will resume on September 14 this year, and the General Debate, in which national leaders and foreign ministers often give speeches, begins on September 21.
Bennett, who is Orthodox, would be unlikely to participate in the first day of the General Debate, because it is also the first day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, but the debate usually lasts several days.
On September 22, the UN will be holding Durban IV, an event in honor of the 20th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism. Israel was singled out as racist in the original conference, and antisemitic materials, such as flyers praising Hitler and copies of the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, were distributed at the parallel NGO forum. Eleven countries - Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, the UK, Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, the Czech Republic and France - are boycotting the conference due to its antisemitic history.