The Biden transition team later confirmed on Tuesday that the two leaders had discussed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and that Biden hoped to work closely with Netanyahu during his presidency.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin also Tweeted On Tuesday, he spoke to Bine, calling him an “old friend” of Israel who “knows that our friendship is based on values beyond partisan politics.”
After French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Irish Chancellor Michel Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Netanyahu is among the new world leaders to hold talks with Biden in two weeks after election day. The Chinese government and Pope Francis have also congratulated the president-elect. Biden’s transition team revealed that the president-elect also held talks with leaders from Chile, South Africa and India on Tuesday.
But news of Netanyahu’s talks with Benin is likely to hurt Trump in particular, as the incoming president and prime minister have forged geopolitical alliances and political partnerships in recent years.
The Trump administration has largely favored a Middle East policy in favor of Israel and focused on protecting it from regional threats such as Iran. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has used a video of his diplomacy with Trump to promote his Likud party in the Israeli assembly elections.
The Trump administration has used its role in the recent Abraham Accords as an example of its foreign policy achievements. The agreement paved the way for Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations with Israel – the first Arab country to do so was Jordan in 1994. For the first time, Saudi Arabia has allowed Al Arab flights to use its airspace for commercial flights. Sudan maintained cordial relations with Israel in October and established normal relations.
“President Trump’s record on foreign policy and national security is comparable to that of Ronald Reagan over the past two generations,” said National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, dismissing diplomatic developments with Israel.
Netanyahu also had a notorious cold relationship with former President Barack Obama, as far as Blame After the Obama administration “carried out shameful anti-Israel moves at the United Nations” in 2016, the US blocked a Security Council resolution calling on Israel to stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories.
But election tensions between them became apparent last month, when Netanyahu specifically Declined An opportunity to publicly criticize Biden during a phone call with Trump at the Oval Office, despite the President’s encouragement to do so.
