Biden Arrives in Israel on High-Stakes Mideast Trip

13/07/2022

by Catherine Lucey, Andrew Restuccia

JERUSALEM— WSJ

President Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday to kick off a trip to the Middle East that his administration hopes will bolster U.S. ties in the region but could yield limited progress on American priorities.

“The connection between the Israeli people and the American people is bone-deep,” Mr. Biden said shortly after landing at the Ben Gurion Airport for his 10th trip to the country over his decades long career in politics. It was his first visit to Israel as president.

“We’re simply happy to see you, Mr. President, the simple, genuine joy of seeing a good friend once again,” said Yair Lapid, Israel’s caretaker prime minister.

U.S. officials framed the four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to strengthen ties and promote stability, including by bringing the two countries he is visiting closer together, while countering threats from Iran. But the president’s allies worry he could conclude without substantial progress on energy or human-rights issues, returning largely empty-handed to the U.S., where he is struggling with low approval ratings and high prices ahead of the midterm elections.

In recent days, White House officials have sought to lower expectations for the trip, contending that it could take months or longer to reach agreements to address high energy prices and establish normal relations between Israel and countries in the region like Saudi Arabia.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters traveling with the president that Mr. Biden intends to “demonstrate material progress” during the trip on issues like regional security, but he declined to explain how the administration defines success. Mr. Sullivan added that the president will discuss ensuring that there is an adequate supply of energy in global markets that is “sustainable over time, meaning having spare capacity as a part of the equation.”

Biden administration officials said Mr. Biden is expected to use the first leg of his trip to make announcements on defense and aid to Palestinian hospitals, as well as to underscore the U.S. alliance with Israel.

Mr. Biden came into office promising a sustained focus on China, but Russia’s war in Ukraine has exacerbated oil price increases, shifting attention to the Middle East, which the president hadn’t made a central focus of his foreign policy. After promising during his presidential campaign to make Saudi Arabia a pariah on the world stage, Mr. Biden has increasingly turned his focus toward the kingdom, with its heavy influence over the global oil markets that have soared in the aftermath of the Ukraine war.

“It’s amazing what an energy crisis will do to your thinking about energy producing countries,” said Jonathan Schanzer, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. He described the approach to Saudi Arabia as a return to the “U.S.-Saudi relationship built on American security guarantees in return for the steady supply of affordable oil.”

On the first leg of the trip, Mr. Biden is set to meet with Mr. Lapid, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as Israel’s former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the country’s opposition. He received a briefing on Israel’s missile-defense capabilities on Wednesday and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. On Thursday, he will participate in a virtual meeting with the leaders of Israel, India and the United Arab Emirates.

A U.S. official said the Biden administration is expected to announce new talks between the U.S. and Israel to co-develop the Iron Beam, an experimental laser system envisioned as a shield against Iran-backed attacks. Mr. Biden is also planning this week to sign a joint U.S.-Israel declaration touting the strategic partnership between the two countries, officials with knowledge of the matter said. This includes a commitment to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, strengthening regional cooperation, and ensuring Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region, Israeli officials said.

Mr. Biden’s visit is focused less on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than Israel’s deepening integration into the rest of the Arab world, part of a broader reshuffling under way in the region. He comes to Israel as a caretaker government is in place, with elections set for later this year.

But there were already signs that one of the administration’s most ambitious goals—forming a regional air-defense partnership with Israel and other Arab nations designed to protect the countries against threats from Iran—is facing headwinds.

Some of the Arab nations involved in the discussions have raised concerns about the partnership, people familiar with the matter said. Though Israel is working more closely than ever with Arab countries, the nations involved in the talks have varied and often conflicting interests, and key players like Saudi Arabia and Qatar don’t have official relations with Israel.

Israeli officials said they hope measures taken during Mr. Biden’s trip will initiate the process of normalizing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.

“This is a very delicate relationship. It’s very fragile,” a senior Israeli official said during a briefing with reporters Wednesday.

One of the signature announcements during the trip is expected to be the transfer of two islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, a long-awaited deal that could include steps toward Riyadh establishing formal ties with Israel, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Mr. Biden will be the first U.S. president to fly directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, the kingdom’s second biggest city after the capital, marking a rare direct flight between the two countries. Other U.S. presidents to have flown directly between the two countries include Donald Trump, who traveled from Riyadh to Israel.

During the trip, Mr. Biden will publicly and privately advocate for progress on human rights and political reform, U.S. officials said, but they declined to detail what he will say.

Mr. Sullivan said Mr. Biden will make extending the cease-fire in Yemen a priority during the meeting with Saudi officials. “We do not believe we can put that issue on the back burner because that cease-fire is fragile and needs to be protected, it needs to be built upon,” Mr. Sullivan said.

Mr. Biden has insisted that his focus will be the summit of Arab countries rather than meeting with Prince Mohammed.

The White House has offered limited details on Mr. Biden’s itinerary in Saudi Arabia. Officials said he would meet with the Saudi leadership, including King Salman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of other Middle Eastern nations. He will also attend a summit of Arab nations, where the White House said he will deliver a speech outlining his vision for the region.

“This is a huge victory for MBS,” said Mr. Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

But White House aides sought to minimize Mr. Biden’s interactions with the crown prince, sensitive to the perception that he is cozying up to a world leader who is seen as toxic among many in Washington. Mr. Biden isn’t planning to hold a press conference in Saudi Arabia and he is expected to avoid public interactions with Prince Mohammed, officials said.

Mr. Biden has faced criticism over the trip, including from within his own party, given Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record and for the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the U.S. intelligence community concluded Prince Mohammed ordered. Mr. Biden had previously refused to deal with Prince Mohammed directly.

During the trip, Mr. Biden will publicly and privately advocate for progress on human rights and political reform, U.S. officials said, but they declined to detail what he will say.

Mr. Biden has insisted that his focus will be the summit of Arab countries rather than meeting with Prince Mohammed.

In an opinion column published in the Washington Post, Mr. Biden defended the trip to Saudi Arabia, saying his aim has been to “reorient—but not rupture—relations with a country that’s been a strategic partner for 80 years.” He only briefly mentioned oil, saying Saudi Arabia is “working with my experts to help stabilize oil markets with other OPEC producers.”

A Saudi promise to significantly increase oil production doesn’t appear likely to happen during the trip. Saudi officials say they aren’t willing to abandon an oil-production alliance with Moscow, which the U.S. has blamed in part for high oil prices. The Saudis have also indicated they are unlikely to make human-rights concessions.

Concerns about the rise of the new BA.5 Omicron subvariant hung over trip preparations, with reports in Israeli media that the U.S. president was taking precautions to avoid Covid-19, including not shaking hands with fellow leaders. But after initially fist-bumping Israeli leaders when he arrived on Wednesday, Mr. Biden was later seen shaking hands.

“We’re trying to minimize contact wherever possible, when we can,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

President Biden will be the first U.S. president to fly directly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.