The White House on Monday released a statement summarizing US President Joe Biden’s conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which it said that Biden, among other things, expressed concerns over Israeli “settlement expansion”
The statement said that Biden and Netanyahu discuss “a broad range of global and regional issues of mutual concern.”
“The President underscored his iron-clad, unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and condemned recent acts of terror against Israeli citizens. The two consulted on our close coordination to counter Iran, including through regular and ongoing joint military exercises. They noted that U.S.-Israel partnership remains a cornerstone in preventing Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon,” the statement continued.
It further said that Biden “stressed the need to take measures to maintain the viability of a two-state solution and improve the security situation in the West Bank. To that end, he welcomed Israel’s willingness to consider new steps to support Palestinian livelihoods, and recognized promising steps by the Palestinian Authority to reassert security control in Jenin and other areas of the West Bank.”
Biden “expressed concern about continued settlement growth and called on all parties to refrain from further unilateral measures. The two leaders agreed to consult with regional partners with the aim of convening a meeting soon in the Aqaba/Sharm format as soon as possible,” said the White House.
The two leaders “also consulted on progress towards establishing a more integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Middle East, including through efforts to deepen and expand normalization with countries in the region and beyond.”
“Finally,” the White House statement said, “President Biden reiterated, in the context of the current debate in Israel about judicial reform, the need for the broadest possible consensus, and that shared democratic values have always been and must remain a hallmark of the US-Israel relationship.”
Netanyahu’s office earlier on Monday issued a statement about the meeting, in which it said that the Prime Minister “informed the US President about the judicial reform bill that will be passed next week in the Knesset and about his intention to try to forge a broad public consensus during the Knesset's summer break for the rest of the process.”
The statement also said that Biden invited Netanyahu to an upcoming meeting in the US, adding that Netanyahu “responded positively to the invitation and it was agreed that the Israeli and US teams would coordinate the details of the meeting.”
The White House statement did not mention a potential meeting between Netanyahu and Biden, who has notably not invited Netanyahu to the White House for a meeting since the latter's reelection as Prime Minister last year.