In a year that has seen one impactful development after another rock Israel and the region, this week is shaping to be particularly fateful.
The huge curveball, of course, is Biden’s not-so-surprising announcement Sunday night that he was not going to seek the Democratic nomination. Despite that, Biden is still the president for the next six months and is still deeply involved in the events affecting Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaving Monday morning for the United States – for the first time since October 7 – where he’s slated to meet with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and address the joint session of Congress.
The main focus of the meetings and speech is expected to be the Gaza war and the burgeoning deal to release the remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas and move toward a resolution of the war. But the trip is taking place after major upheavals in both countries.
In Israel, the Houthi terror group in Yemen successfully fired a drone overnight Friday that hit a building in Tel Aviv near the US Consulate early Friday morning, killing Yevgeny Ferder and injuring 10 others, in an attack that threatened to escalate the regional conflict further. The next day, IDF fighter jets targeted oil refining facilities in Yemen’s Hodeidah, as well as Yemeni air force assets.
Netanyahu spoke in a video released by the Prime Minister’s Office, saying that Israel “struck Houthi targets in Yemen yesterday in response to the deadly drone attack near the US Consulate in Tel Aviv. The targeted port is used for smuggling weapons from Iran to the Houthis, who have attacked Israel and other nations. The international community must support Israel’s actions to defend against this Iranian terror axis and ensure the aggressors pay a heavy price.”
He added that “for the past eight months, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against Israel. All of this was successfully intercepted by the Israeli defense systems with the help of our friend the United States and also with the help of other countries. I want to thank them.”
America's eyes are on Trump
In the US, all of the attention has been devoted to the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, his resultant nomination as the Republican candidate for president, and the growing calls within the Democratic Party for its candidate, Biden, to withdraw from running again amid concern over his cognitive abilities.
In addition, both Netanyahu and Biden are facing immense internal pressures – Netanyahu from his hawkish flank in his coalition and his own Likud Party against the US-brokered deal in Gaza, and Biden from the far-left elements of the Democrats that are siding with Hamas.
What’s needed is for Netanyahu and his US counterparts to block out all that peripheral static and the internal pressures both are facing and focus on the vital issues that concern their two countries.
According to Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Netanyahu is going to stress to Biden and the other American leaders that the US needs to see Israel’s conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis holistically – all emanating from the same source: Iran. He’ll also make the case that Iran is also stirring unrest in the West Bank, in Israel, and in the US, where no less than American intelligence says Iran has been paying for some of the pro-Palestinian protests in the United States.
Above all, Netanyahu and Biden must put aside any internal political tsunamis they’re facing and focus on the deep, unique relationship that the US and Israel have shared for decades. Despite differences, that relationship is still paramount over party politics and personality issues and has been repeatedly demonstrated since October 7.
Most recently, the US provided valuable assistance when Iran launched its unprecedented barrage of rockets on the Jewish state in April. As Netanyahu alluded to, US involvement has prevented the Houthi onslaught against Israel from not resulting in more significant damage and loss of life than it did.
Netanyahu’s Washington journey should first and foremost involve coalescing the deal that will bring home the hostages. Second, he should crystalize the salient point that the US and Israel need to join forces against Iran – diplomatically and otherwise. No less importantly, he must underscore that both countries are much stronger when they work in tandem than when working separately.