Busy diplomatic program for Joe Biden Thursday in Israel

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden, visiting Israel, is expected to sign the “Jerusalem Declaration” which will seal cooperation between the United States and the Jewish state.

After the warm welcome, the hot issues: US President Joe Biden will increase exchanges with Israeli leaders on Thursday and endorse a “Jerusalem Declaration” which seals the cooperation of the United States and the Jewish state.

The Jerusalem Declaration on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership will be living testimony to the unique nature, health, breadth, depth, and intimacy of this bilateral relationship. said a senior Israeli official, on condition of anonymity.

In particular, this document will express a very clear and united position against Iran, its nuclear program and its aggression across the region, the source continues, although the Americans have not so far used the expression Jerusalem Declaration to refer to this text.

The attitude to adopt vis-à-vis Tehran is a source of uncertainty between the United States, which would like to try the diplomatic route by resuscitating the major nuclear agreement of 2015 (JCPOA), and Israel, a follower of the hard line.

The Trump administration withdrew in 2018 from this agreement framing the Iranian nuclear program to restore sanctions against Tehran as part of ;a so-called maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

It was a gigantic mistake by the last president to pull out of the deal, because they [the Iranians] are closer to the atomic weapon today than they were before, Biden said in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 broadcast Wednesday night.

Asked if he was prepared to use force to ensure that Iran did not obtain atomic weapons, Mr. Biden replied: Yes, if it is a last resort.

Israel fears not only that its Iranian enemy will acquire nuclear weapons – an intention that Tehran denies – but also that the lifting of sanctions replenish the coffers of the Islamic Republic which would then, according to the Jewish state, increase its support for its allies in the region such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas.

US President Joe Biden (center) chats with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (left), and Prime Minister Yair Lapid (right) at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.

In detail, Joe Biden must meet at midday with the new Prime Minister Yaïr Lapid who had declared in 2021, when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, to want to restore the bridges between Israel and the American Democratic Party after the years in power of Donald Trump and Binyamin Netanyahu.

Mr. Biden will take part in a meeting in a format called I2U2, bringing together leaders from Israel, India, a key Jewish state ally, and the United Arab Emirates, a country that has normalized its relations with Israel.

Joe Biden will also see President Isaac Herzog, who is to decorate him with a Medal of Honor for his support of Israel, and he will cheer on American athletes participating in the Maccabiah Games, Jewish sports events held every four years. in Israel.

Finally, as is customary for an American president, especially as Israel is campaigning for the legislative elections on November 1, Mr. Biden will meet the political opposition, in this case former leader Binyamin Netanyahu, with whom he is reputed to have a relationship that is not always very warm.

This visit by Joe Biden – his tenth in total , but his first as president — is for Washington to serve as a reminder of its influence in a region that has so far not been a priority for the Democratic administration, mostly obsessed with China and Russia. /p>

On this last point, the White House has been careful so far not to address the subject of Ukraine and the attitude of the Jewish state too directly. .

Israel, while publicly condemning the invasion, refuses to supply arms to the Ukrainians, because the Jewish state wants to be able to rely on the presence of the Russia in the region, particularly in neighboring Syria, where the Israeli army is also conducting airstrikes against elements deemed pro-Iranian.

Where all American administrations or almost have directed a lot of diplomatic efforts towards the Middle East, with great blows in particular of initiatives for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, that of Joe Biden remains so far in the background.

Many analysts believe that the American president, while congratulating himself for having re-established a discussion with the Palestinians, and relaunched the #x27;financial assistance for their benefit, should not commit further.