WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is hosting Israel’s front-runner Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday as they seek to maintain ties despite U.S. concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system of their country and the ongoing construction of settlements in the country. Bank of the West.
Herzog’s visit comes a day after Biden spoke by phone with Netanyahu and invited him to meet in the US this fall, even as the president expressed reservations about several of the far-right coalition’s policies. Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s government is pushing ahead with judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel and has also authorized the construction of thousands of new homes in the West Bank.
Netanyahu and his allies, a collection of ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalist parties, say the plan is needed to rein in the powers of unelected judges. Opponents say the plan will destroy Israel’s fragile system of checks and balances and move the country toward authoritarian rule.
Herzog has called for a commitment that has so far proved difficult to avoid. Many American Jewish groups and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about the plan.
During his visit, Herzog will meet with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional leaders. On Wednesday, he will become the second Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog, to address Congress. His speech will mark Israel’s celebration of its 75th year of independence.
Herzog’s visit comes weeks after Israeli forces launched one of their most intense operations in the West Bank in two decades, with a two-day air and ground offensive on Jenin, a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank. Senior members of Netanyahu’s government have been pushing for increased construction and other measures to consolidate Israel’s control over the West Bank in response to a more than year-long wave of violence with Palestinians.
US officials have broadly supported Israel’s right to defend itself against militant attacks, but have also called for restraint to minimize civilian harm and pushed against additional settlements that would further diminish the chances of a settlement of two states between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Biden administration declined to say whether Biden would host Netanyahu at the White House — as the Israeli leader had hoped — or in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
White House visits are usually standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers, and the delay in Netanyahu receiving one has become a problem in Israel, with opponents citing it as a reflection of deteriorating relations relations with the US.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Biden again expressed his concerns to Netanyahu about the judicial plan — as he did when they last spoke earlier this year — and urged the ” broadest possible consensus” on the legislation that Netanyahu and his ilk have pushed through. hardline coalition.
Kirby said during the call, Biden also expressed his “strong and unwavering commitment” to Israel’s security and that the two leaders discussed Iran’s nuclear program and regional security issues. Biden also “expressed concern” about the continued growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and urged Israel to take steps to preserve the viability of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Biden, Kirby said, also welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s steps to reassert security control in Jenin and other areas of the West Bank and moves by Israel and the Palestinians to move toward another round of direct talks .
Progressive lawmakers, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush and Ilhan Omar have pledged to boycott Herzog’s speech in protest of Israel’s policies.
Herzog’s visit comes days after Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the influential 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, sparked outrage for calling Israel a “racist state,” including criticism from the House Democratic leader, representative Hakeem Jeffries. Jayapal later said that he was criticizing Israel’s government, not its existence as a country.
Kirby said Biden was happy to apologize. “We think an apology was the right thing to do,” he told reporters Monday.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians claim all three territories for a future independent state.
Israel has annexed East Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally. He says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be determined through negotiations, while Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Two years later, the militant group Hamas invaded the territory.
