Biden is slated to reserve most of his remarks regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for his Friday meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.īiden and Lapid will then connect to computers for a high-level meeting of the new I2U2 forum with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed. No major announcement from either side is expected. Also in attendance for part of this sit-down will be Lapid’s predecessor, Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who met Biden twice during his year as premier. On Thursday morning, Biden will hold a meeting with Lapid after which the two will deliver statements to the press. The ‘Iron Beam’ laser-based air defense system is seen during a test in southern Israel, March 2022. The show-and-tell will include an Iron Dome missile defense battery, in a nod to US efforts to grant Israel an additional $500 million in replacement batteries for the system after last year’s Gaza war.īiden’s tour will include the Iron Beam laser rocket defense system, which is designed to work in tandem with systems like Iron Dome and shoot down smaller projectiles. While Lapid may only be a caretaker prime minister, and only met Biden once in 2013, he will be looking to build rapport with the US president in order to strengthen his political bona fides ahead of the November 1 election.īiden will then tour several Israeli security systems with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, likely at the Palmachim air force base in central Israel, near the airport. WASHINGTON - The schedule for US President Joe Biden’s upcoming two-day trip to Israel and the West Bank was all but finalized on Thursday, and while it will be the longtime lawmaker’s 10th trip to the Jewish state, the itinerary will include a number of firsts for the US leader.īiden will land Wednesday afternoon at Ben Gurion Airport, where he will be greeted by Prime Minister Yair Lapid in an official welcome ceremony.
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