Normalization of ties between Israeli and the Arab world is in the spotlight again as U.S. President Joe Biden gears up for his first Middle East trip as president.
The U.S. president’s flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia would be “a small symbol of the budding relations and steps toward normalization between Israel and the Arab world, which my administration is working to deepen and expand,” Biden said in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Saturday.
Israeli-Arab security overtures have increased since the 2020 Abraham Accords negotiated under the Trump administration normalized relations between Israel and four Arab League nations. The accord brought Israel closer to the UAE and Bahrain.
President Biden will visit the Middle East region from July 13-16 to reinforce the United States’ iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security and prosperity and attend a Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan (known as the GCC+3).
Talking about the importance of stability in that region, Biden said that he “will be the first president to visit the Middle East since 9/11 without U.S. troops engaged in a combat mission there. And it’s my aim to keep it that way,” he said.
In the article, Biden explained to the American public why he was going to visit Saudi Arabia next week. “I know that there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia,” wrote Biden. “My views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be during this trip, just as they will be in Israel and the West Bank.” He said that his job was to keep the United States “strong and secure,” adding that the country has to counter Russia’s aggression, put itself in the best possible position to outcompete China, and work for greater stability which requires engaging with countries that can impact those outcomes and Saudi Arabia is one of them.
Biden will begin his travel in Israel, where he will meet with Israeli leaders to discuss Israel’s security, prosperity, and its increasing integration into the greater region. He will also visit the West Bank and meet the Palestinian Authority to reiterate his strong support for a two-state solution, with equal measures of security, freedom, and opportunity for the Palestinian people.
The President will then travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. Biden looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades, the White House said. In Saudi Arabia, the U.S. president will discuss a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues including support to the UN-mediated truce in Yemen, means for expanding regional economic and security cooperation, including new and promising infrastructure and climate initiatives, as well as deterring threats from Iran, advancing human rights, and ensuring global energy and food security.
