He set the agenda for US President Joe Biden in Israel and the West Bank, and although this is his tenth visit to Israel, it will include a series of meetings that are the first of their kind.
Biden will arrive at Ben Gurion Airport on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 13, where he will be received by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid for an official reception, the second meeting since 2013.
Biden will then tour a number of Israeli security systems with Defense Secretary Benny Gantz, likely at the Palmach Air Force Base in central Israel, near the airport. The proposal will include the opening of the Iron Dome missile defense battery in connection with US efforts to provide Israel with an additional $500 million after last year’s war in Gaza.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Biden would announce his approval for the US military-industrial complex to begin negotiations with its Israeli counterparts to buy the Iron Beam air defense system.
After that, Biden will travel to Yad Vashem to draw attention to the Jewish Holocaust.
On the morning of the second day of the visit, Biden will meet with Lapid and they will hold a joint press conference. They will then take part in a video call at the new I2U2 Forum with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Biden will then meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, followed by a brief meeting with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Friday morning, Biden will travel to the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to a Palestinian-majority area outside the Old City.
Biden will then travel to Bethlehem to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, after which Biden will return to Ben Gurion Airport, from where he will make a rare direct trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council+3 summit on Saturday in Jeddah with leaders. countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Source: The Times of Israel.