PM Netanyahu Finally Meets With US President Joe Biden

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5TC Team
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today finally met with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN’s General Assembly.

Following are the Prime Minister’s comments at the start of the meeting.

“Thank you, Mr. President, Joe.

We’ve been friends for, I’ve checked it, over 40 years, and our friendship goes a long way and can take us a long way. I’m delighted to see you. I think we live at a time of great promise but also grave danger. You just spoke about that great promise in the G20 meeting that you participated in and led. You spoke about an economic corridor that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe together, and such a corridor will make Israel a very important hub on a highway of unprecedented prosperity.

But I think, and you think, that it can do something much bigger than that. Under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. And such a peace would go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is something within our reach. I believe that working together we can make history and create a better future for the region and beyond.

And also, by working together we can confront those forces that threaten that future, none more so than Iran.

I appreciate, Mr. President, your continuous commitment to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. I think that’s critical. And that shared goal of ours can be achieved by a credible military threat, crippling sanctions and supporting the brave men and women of Iran who despise that regime and who are our real partners for a better future.

So I look forward to working with you and your team to realize the promise and confront the threat.

As I said, we live in, and you said, we live in uncertain times, rapidly changing times. So I want to reassert here, before you, Mr. President, that one thing is certain and one thing will never change, and that is Israel’s commitment to democracy. We will continue to uphold the values that both our proud democracies cherish.

And I think that working together will realize the promise, roll back the dangers and bring a better future for our region and the world. We can make history, Mr. President. With your leadership, we can make history.”

Readout from The White House:

“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today in New York with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to discuss a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual concern. The President wished the Prime Minister and the people of Israel a happy new year during the Jewish high holidays. President Biden reaffirmed the unbreakable bond between the two countries, which is based on the bedrock of shared democratic values, and the United States’ iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security.

During the meeting, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, as well as ongoing close cooperation between Israel and the United States to counter all threats posed by Iran and its proxies. They also consulted on progress toward establishing a more integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Middle East region, including through efforts to deepen and expand normalization with countries in the region.

The two leaders welcomed the historic announcement made at the G20 to develop the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, and discussed how the project can benefit the entire Middle East region with investment and new forms of collaboration across two continents. The two leaders and their teams welcomed the likely convening soon of a ministerial meeting in the Negev format to further advance regional integration initiatives, as well as deepening the ongoing U.S.-Israeli Tech Dialogue.

With regard to ongoing tension and violence in the West Bank, the President emphasized the need to take immediate measures to improve the security and economic situation, maintain the viability of a two-state solution, and promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. To that end, President Biden called on all parties to fulfill their commitments made during meetings held earlier this year in Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to include refraining from further unilateral measures.

The two leaders and their teams agreed to consult with regional partners with the aim of convening a meeting soon in this important Aqaba/Sharm format. The President also reiterated his concern about any fundamental changes to Israel’s democratic system, absent the broadest possible consensus. Finally, President Biden invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to Washington D.C. before the end of the year to continue direct collaboration on this broad range of issues.”

Watch the full meeting below:



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