WASHINGTON – When Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets President Biden in the White House on Thursday, the two new leaders plan to reshape relations between their countries and strengthen bonds that have shown signs of strain.
Mr Biden, who called Bennett to congratulate him less than two hours after he was sworn in two months ago, has tried to send a clear signal that the United States supports his new, diverse coalition government.
Mr Bennett has said that he would like his administration to be known as the “Government of Good Will” and that he would like to be gentler on the United States than his longtime predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, who often clashed with Democratic leaders.
But despite the conciliatory style, the challenge can be in the substance. Mr Biden and Mr Bennett, who have never met before, have very different views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and efforts to restore the nuclear deal with Iran.
Mr Bennett has made it clear that there will be no independent Palestinian state during his reign. The Biden government, on the other hand, has been deeply in favor of a two-state solution, which by definition includes an independent Palestinian state.
Mr Bennett is also against the United States’ re-entry into the Iran deal, which the Biden administration is investigating.
“These are two very central issues in US-Israel relations, on which there are radically different positions,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group. “The tone and atmosphere cannot replace the fact that there is a fundamental difference in the core issues of US-Israel relations.”
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Mr Bennett said he would expand the settlements in the West Bank, which Biden refuses. And he refused to support the American plans to reopen a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Still, he made it clear that the meeting wanted to show that relations with the United States were on more solid ground, even if some of its policies were similar to those of Mr. Netanyahu.
“There’s a new dimension here – finding new ways to tackle problems, being very realistic, very pragmatic, and being sensible with friends,” said Bennett.
His visit comes as Mr Biden is wandering through the biggest foreign policy crisis of his young presidency, trying to evacuate all American and Afghan allies before his August 31 deadline for US troops to withdraw from the country after 20 years of war.
At home, Mr Biden has to do with countercurrents across Israel in his own party, as an energetic progressive wing and quiet change among mainstream Democrats have led many lawmakers to be more skeptical of the longtime ally.
Mr. Bennett is also the rare international leader with whom Mr. Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, shares no history, a distinction that even sets Mr. Bennett apart from some of his neighbors. When King Abdullah II of Jordan visited the White House last month as the first Arab leader since Mr Biden took office, the president called him a “loyal and decent friend” and remarked, “We hung out together.” a long time ago.”
