Lapid and Biden
Lapid and BidenCourtesy

If the bill to dissolve the Knesset passes its second and third readings this week, Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will be Israel's premier when US President Joe Biden visits the country next month, and it will be Lapid who greets Biden at Ben Gurion Airport when he arrives on July 13.

Given the situation, Biden is now slated to meet also with Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit.

Lapid is expected to hold several meetings with the President over the three days he is in the country; Naftali Bennett will also be present, with whom Biden has formed something of a rapport; he has no history of a relationship with Lapid, however, and the two are believed only to have met once, almost ten years ago, when Lapid was Finance Minister under Netanyahu and Biden was Vice-President.

Following his trip to Israel, the US President intends to visit Saudi Arabia where he will meet with the country's rulers along with other regional leaders.