Biden departs Israel for Saudi Arabia
The latest updates from US President Joe Biden's first official trip to Israel since taking office.
Lapid, Herzog raised issue of Israeli captives in Gaza with Biden
The weight of the US could significantly influence the development and trajectory of the negotiations, said President Isaac Herzog.
The issue of the four Israeli prisoners being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip was raised by Prime Minister Yair Lapid when he spoke with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, KAN reported.
The weight of the US could significantly influence the development and trajectory of the negotiations, President Isaac Herzog emphasized during the meeting, according to KAN.
What's the background?
Just two weeks ago, ahead of Biden's visit, Hamas released an urgent warning of the deteriorating health of one of the Israelis still in Gaza, releasing a video hours later to back up the announcement.
Hamas is understood to be holding captive two Israeli civilians, both of whom suffer from mental illness. It is believed that as a result of this illness, they crossed into Gaza.
Ashkelon resident Avera Mengistu, originally from Ethiopia, has been held captive since he entered Gaza in September 2014. Hisham al-Sayed, from the Bedouin town of al-Hura in the Negev, entered Gaza in April 2015.
Separately, Hamas is also believed to be holding the remains of two soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war: Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oron Shaul.
Can an Israeli civilian help?
A day later, Hamas said it would allow an Israeli left-wing activist, Yoel Marshak, to visit the Strip. At the time, he was still waiting for permission from Israel.
Marshak had said that he wanted to try to use his connections there to help free the hostages. Hamas had granted him a three-day visit with a security guarantee, three months ago.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
Go to the full article >>Biden's Jerusalem visit: These are Friday's road closures
It's the third and final day of US President Joe Biden's trip to Israel. Which roads will be blocked in Jerusalem today? We've got you covered.
By approximately 10 a.m., traffic at specific points on the following roads will be closed:
- Yitzhak Kariv Street, which begins near the Waldorf Astoria hotel and crosses into east Jerusalem at the Old City;
- Agron Street, in both directions;
- Shlomo HaMelech Street;
- HaTsanhanim Street, at the northern border of the old city;
- Kheil ha-Handasa Street, the highway taking Jerusalem north from Damascus Gate and continuing to Haim Bar Lev Boulevard, University Boulevard and Yitshak HaNadiv Street by the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The traffic blockages effectively secure all the main passageways from west Jerusalem to east where they intersect with the old city.
Israel and Border Police officers, as well as volunteers, were placed at points throughout the city on Friday morning.
What's on Biden's schedule on his last day in Israel?
President Biden will travel to Bethlehem to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.
US President Joe Biden will depart Israel Friday afternoon, on a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Saudi Arabia.
Much of his last day will focus on the Palestinian Authority, as he expected to announce that the US will contribute $100 million for the east Jerusalem hospital network. According to a senior administration official, the network provides services to 50,000 patients from east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza annually.
“At the meeting, President Biden will underscore his commitment to a two-state solution which President Biden and Prime Minister Lapid both affirm their support for at the press conference.”
US official
Meeting with Abbas
After visiting the Augusta Victoria hospital – without being accompanied by Israeli officials – he will travel to Bethlehem where he will meet with Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.
“At the meeting, President Biden will underscore his commitment to a two-state solution which President Biden and Prime Minister Lapid both affirm their support for at the press conference,” the official said.
President Biden will announce an additional $201 million for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the official said. “It has been a priority for President Biden to rebuild ties with the Palestinians that were severed by the previous administration.”
Biden will also announce that Israel and the Palestinian Authority will relaunch Israeli Palestinian economic discussions by reconvening the Joint Economic Committee that last met all the way back in 2009, the official added, saying this is “a long-awaited step.”
Later, he will visit the Church of the Nativity, “to underscore support for Christians who face challenges in the region, the official continued. “
Flight to Saudi Arabia
After that, he will become the first American President to fly directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, where he will carry a message encouraging peace, stability, and an integrated, more interconnected region.
”After landing in Jeddah, President Biden will have bilateral meetings with Saudi leaders including the King, the Crown Prince, and ministers from across the Saudi government together with his team," said the official.
Speaking about Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the official said that Biden is “committed to ensuring that the United States will not leave a vacuum in the Middle East to be filled by China, Russia or others.”
“That would be a great danger to the Middle East, to the people of the Middle East, and ultimately to the United States of America,” the official said. “So for Putin to be visiting Tehran at this moment in history, and we know that he is hoping to receive a significant number of drones and UAVs from Iran to fight his illegal war on aggression in Ukraine - that speaks for itself. Putin is making a bet on Iran, we’re making a bet on a stable, more integrated, more prosperous, more secure, Middle East.”
Go to the full article >>21st Maccabiah Games kick off amid much fanfare
This year's Games are expected to be the world's largest sporting event for the year 2022.
US President Joe Biden has arrived at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
Minutes before the scheduled start of the ceremony, the stadium suffered a power outage after an electrical box caught on fire.
The power outage has since been fixed and the ceremony is set to go ahead as planned.
The Maccabiah Games have been held in Israel since 1932. The games, which take place every four years but were pushed off one year due to COVID, currently recognize all 28 Olympic sports plus some extras like chess and cricket.
This year's games are expected to be the world's largest sporting event for the year 2022.
About 10,000 athletes from 80 countries competing in the event will participate in 42 sporting events watched by tens of thousands of spectators.
The full event spans two weeks and different teams will compete in venues in Jerusalem, Haifa and Netanya. It is overseen by its parent organization, Maccabi World Union, which is also responsible for the European Maccabiah Games, Pan American Maccabiah Games and Oceania Maccabiah Games.
Go to the full article >>Netanyahu and Biden hold talk on Iran
Netanyahu emphasized that "if and when" he returns to office, his hard stance on Iran will remain the same.
Former Prime Minister and head of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, had a longer-than-planned meeting with US president Joe Biden.
The two recalled joint memories and mainly discussed the Iranian nuclear issue. "Without a reliable military option, it will be impossible to stop Iran, and if it is not deterred, the military option must be exercised," Netanyahu told Biden.
"He has supported us in many things throughout the years. We have been friends for 40 years, but to ensure friendship for the next 40 years we have to address the Iranian threat. We need one thing, and I told him that."
"Economic sanctions and even a defensive pact are not enough, there is a need for a military-offensive option on Iran, without it, nothing will work," Netanyahu told reporters after his conversation with President Biden.
Netanyahu also emphasized that "if and when" he returns to office, this will remain his stance towards Iran and the US.
"This is my position, this is my commitment, and I very much hope that this is also the American position. Biden said he agrees with my position and I was glad to hear that. This is what I will do if and when I return to the Prime Minister's Office."
Go to the full article >>"Biden said he agrees with my position and I was glad to hear that. This is what I will do if and when I return to the Prime Minister's Office."
Benjamin Netanyahu
Biden invites President Herzog to Washington
Biden invites President Herzog to Washington
US President Joe Biden invited Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog to visit the White House during a meeting between the two on Thursday afternoon.
Biden also noted that his phone "is always available" for Herzog, asking him to contact him whenever he needs.
Biden receives Presidential Medal of Honor from Herzog
Later, Biden and Herzog are scheduled to attend the opening of the Macabbiah Games in southern Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is awarding US President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Honor, the highest honor that can be awarded by the Israeli president.
The Presidential Medal of Honor is awarded to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to Israel or to humanity through their talents, their service, or in any other way.
Israel will not be alone because the US will always be by its side," Biden said before receiving the medal. "There is still a lot of work to do, this is why the US is committed to Israel's security...it's not about me or any other president, it's about the deep connection between our nations," the US president added.
Former recipients of the Presidential Medal of Honor include former US president Barack Obama, former German chancellor Angela Merkel, former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, and more.
President Joe Biden arrived Thursday afternoon at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem where he met with President Isaac Herzog. Biden was greeted by Israeli kids waving Israeli and American flags.
"Together we will stay true to our core values," Biden stressed. "We'll make hope and history rhyme."
Herzog presented Biden with the Presidential Medal of Honor. "Your journey of peace here in the Middle East comes at the pivotal hour of a challenged world order," the Israeli president told his American counterpart.
"I believe that a strong and vibrant US-Israel partnership has seldom been more critical to our countries, to the Middle East, and to global stability and sustainability, peace and prosperity, democracy and decency."
Biden wrote in Herzog's guest book the following: "Bougie, my friend, thank you for all you and your family have done to deepen the ironclad bond between our two great countries. From our shared Irish roots to our shared love of Israel, we are united in heart and spirit. May our friendship endure and continue to grow! That is the Irish of it, as my grandfather Finnegan would say. God bless you. Joe."
Later, Biden and Herzog are scheduled to attend the opening of the Macabbiah Games in southern Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium.
Go to the full article >>Biden meets with Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden is meeting with Opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden arrives at President's Residence with Herzog
US President Joe Biden arrives at the President's Residence with President Isaac Herzog.
Biden says US won’t wait forever for Iran deal, doesn’t set deadline
Prime Minister Yair Lapid told Biden in their meeting that the nuclear talks to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action cannot continue to be open-ended and must have a deadline.
The US will not wait indefinitely for Iran to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, US President Joe Biden said in Jerusalem on Thursday, while declining to set a deadline for the end of negotiations.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid told Biden in their meeting that the nuclear talks to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action cannot continue to be open-ended and must have a deadline, a senior source said. Lapid also said the Western parties to the 2015 Iran Deal must call the UN Security Council and snap back sanctions on the Islamic Republic for its nuclear violations.
Asked about a deadline in the subsequent press conference, Biden said: “We’ve laid out for the leadership of Iran what we’re willing to accept to get into the JCPOA, and we’re waiting for a response. When it will come is uncertain but we’re not going to wait forever.”
Biden said the US is “committed to ensuring Iran never obtains nuclear weapons” and that doing so was “vital to the security of Israel and the US and the rest of the world as well.”
“I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome, while continuing to work with Israel to counter other threats ….[such as] proxies like Hezbollah,” Biden said.
Lapid and Biden signed The Jerusalem US-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration after their meeting, a statement that includes an affirmation that the US is prepared to use military force against Iran, but Lapid appeared to call for a stronger statement.
“The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program the free world will use force. The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table,” Lapid said.
“It should not be a bluff, it should be the real thing,” Lapid stated. “The Iranian regime must know that if they continue to deceive the world, they will pay a heavy price.”
The United States stresses in the Jerusalem Declaration “that integral to this pledge” - a commitment to Israel’s security and qualitative military edge - “is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.”
The declaration also states that the US will work with “other partners” against Iranian aggression and destabilizing actions it takes directly or through proxies.
Biden remarked on “how important it was from my perspective for Israel to be totally integrated in the region,” and Lapid said that BIden’s trip to Saudi Arabia “is important for Israel and the region, for our security and the future prosperity of the Middle East.”
“Our hand is outstretched for peace,” Lapid stated in a message he said he wanted Biden to relay to Gulf States. “We are ready to share our technology and experience, ready for our people to meet and learn about one another, aready for our scientists to collaborate and our businesses to cooperate.”
Biden said he will be “carrying a direct message of peace” and will “continue building on the Abraham Accords, which I strongly support because they deepen Israel’s integration in the broader region…Israel’s peace with its newborns [is an] essential goal.”
Saudi-Israel normalization?
The US president plans to fly directly to Jeddah from Israel, and expected to announce an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia by which Israeli commercial flights can enter Saudi airspace, in exchange for Israel agreeing to changes in security arrangements in the Straits of Tiran. The countries are also in talks for Saudi Arabia to allow a limited number of direct flights from Israel for Muslims taking part in the pilgrimage to Mecca, but it they may not be completed in time for Biden’s visit.
Biden and Lapid did not confirm the overflights agreement when asked about it in the press conference, but Lapid said Israel is “open to normalization,” and Biden said he is “optimistic.”
The US president said that he will continue to speak about human rights violations by Saudi Arabia, including the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi.
“The reason I’m going to Saudi Arabia is to promote US interests,” Biden said. “I think we have an opportunity to reassert what I think we made a mistake of walking away from - our influence in the Middle East. I am meeting with nine heads of state…I want to make clear we can continue to lead the region and not create a vacuum filled by China and or Russia.”
In addition, the US supports a follow-on Memorandum of Understanding to follow the one signed in 2016 granting Israel $38 billion in defense aid to be spent in the US, as well as additional funding for missile defense, such as the $1 billion to replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system following the conflict with Hamas in Gaza last year. Biden said that he was proud to be part of the administrations that approved that funding.
“Nothing better reflects the steadfast and bipartisan support of the US to Israel’s security than the unprecedented [MOU] on security assistance signed by successive US administrations over the past few decades,” the declaration states.
Remarking on the strength of the US-Israel relationship, Biden quipped: “Like it or not, we’re with you. There’s no way out.”
The countries also said they will promote cooperation in developing “cutting edge defense technologies” like laser weapons systems.
Biden mentioned in the press conference that he had reviewed the Iron Dome as well as the prototype of the Iron Beam laser-based missile defense system, and said they “can defend Israeli lives as well as lives of American servicemen.”
In the Jerusalem Declaration, Israel also thanked the US for supporting the Abraham Accords, which the country said are “important to the future of the Middle East region and to the cause of regions security, prosperity and peace.”
The countries also expressed concern for the ongoing war on Ukraine, and their “commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and affirm the importance of continued humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.”
Biden said that “Israel and the US stand together to defend fundamental values and to underwrite global prosperity and freedom.
“Putin’s assault on Ukraine is a challenge to peace and stability everywhere,” Biden stated. “The free world must sustain our resolve to help Ukraine. The US will continue to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people who have been devastated by Russian violence.”
In addition, they said they will work together to combat boycott and delegitimization efforts against Israel, including at the UN or the International Criminal Court.
“While fully respecting the right to freedom of expression, they firmly reject the BDS campaign,” the declaration reads. “The two countries will use the tools at their disposal to fight every scourge and source of antisemitism and to respond whenever legitimate criticism crosses over into bigotry and hatred or attempts to undermine Israel’s rightful and legitimate place among the family of nations.”
“The United States is proud to stand with the Jewish and democratic State of Israel, and with its people, whose uncommon courage, resilience, and spirit of innovation are an inspiration to so many worldwide,” the declaration states.
The declaration also mentions Israeli-Palestinian relations, condemning terrorism, and a shared commitment to initiatives improving Palestinians’ economy and quality of life. Biden reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution. Though he did not do so in the declaration, Lapid said in the press conference that he believes a two-state solution will preserve a democratic Israel with a Jewish majority.
Biden did not make any requests of Israel pertaining to the Palestinians during the meeting with Lapid, other than that there not be any surprises, the senior source said. During Biden’s visit to Israel as vice president in 2010, thousands of new homes in east Jerusalem were announced, causing a diplomatic crisis.
In the president’s public remarks, he called for Israel not to take any steps that could obstruct an eventual two-state solution for “two peoples with deep, ancient roots in this land, living side by side in peace and security.” Such a solution will allow Israel to “remain a Jewish and democratic state,” he said.
In addition, the Jerusalem Declaration mentions the launch of the US-Israel Strategic High-Level Dialogue on Technology, which is a partnership on critical and emerging tech and areas of global concern such as pandemic preparedness, climate change and artificial intelligence. They agreed to cooperate on cyber exchange and combatting cybercrime.
The Jerusalem Declaration also includes a commitment to continue working towards allowing Israelis and Americans to travel between the countries without a visa. Responding to a question about the matter, Biden expressed hope that the process will be finished soon. Lapid asked the opposition - which blocked necessary legislation for Israel to join the Visa Waiver Program - to be more cooperative.
Lapid opened his remarks before the press referring to shared values between Israel and the US.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Iran nuclear threat reminds us that “in order to protect freedom, sometimes force must be used,” Lapid said.
The reason these countries attack democracies is fear, he added.
“What scares them the most is that their citizens, their people can see us. They can see our quality of life. The dynamism and creativity of our economy. The rights of women and the LGBTQ community. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech,” Lapid said. “Our way of life is what threatens them.”
Biden repeated his well-trod story about former prime minister Golda Meir telling him, then a young senator visiting Israel in 1973, that “Israel has a secret weapon: We have nowhere else to go.”
“The scourge of antisemitism still marches around the world,” Biden said. “We must never forget the horrors to which unchecked hatred could lead, which is why I wanted to visit Yad Vashem…to renew our vow of never again.”
Go to the full article >>Important facts
- Biden will be in Israel until Friday.
- He will meet with both Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
- Ahead of the visit, the US and Israel announced the establishment of a tech dialogue between the countries.