Middle East Monitor / July 12, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Joe Biden’s special envoy for energy, Amos Hochstein, on Tuesday, his office revealed in a brief statement. The two discussed “regional issues and topics connected to the close cooperation between the US and Israel.”
The tension between Israel and Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon, efforts to reach a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and American steps in this context were also on the agenda. The meeting was attended by Israel’s National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi.
Hochstein’s visit comes in light of tension between Washington and Tel Aviv over Netanyahu’s far-right government plans to overhaul the judiciary.
“[Netanyahu’s government] is the most extreme since Golda Meir’s, and I am trying to understand how he gets along with [the extremists],” the US president told CNN earlier this week. What’s more, Israel and Saudi Arabia are “far” from reaching an agreement. “The Saudis have no problem with Israel, but there is more that should be talked about.” He warned that a future agreement is linked to Israel’s activities in the region.
Biden added that he still believes in a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the current security tension. “Israel is not the only culprit of the situation in the West Bank. There is permanent dialogue, and we are trying to reduce the flames.”
