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- Arriving in Israel on Wednesday, US President Biden described the connection between the two countries as 鈥渂one-deep鈥�
- While in Israel, the US president will discuss regional integration and efforts to counter Iran鈥檚 malign regional activities
DUBAI: In the skies above Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Air Force One lowered its giant wheels. On the ground below, red carpet already unrolled, the great and the good awaited the arrival of a US president six years older than the state of Israel itself.
Joe Biden is no stranger to Israel. This is his 10th visit, and he has met every one of the country鈥檚 prime ministers since he first came as a young senator in 1973 and sat down with Golda Meir.
Joe Biden is no stranger to Israel. This is his 10th visit. (AFP)
This time it was the turn of President Isaac Herzog and Yair Lapid, Israel鈥檚 interim prime minister as it awaits yet another parliamentary election at the end of the year, to welcome Biden. The men exchanged fist bumps, in line with White House guidance that the US president would be avoiding personal contact because of COVID-19 precautions.
However, Biden made an exception for Benjamin Netanyahu, sharing a hearty handshake with the opposition leader and former prime minister. The president also placed a friendly hand on the shoulders of several Israeli dignitaries.
In a welcoming speech, Lapid told Biden: 鈥淵our relationship with Israel has always been personal,鈥� and said the president was 鈥渙ne of the best friends Israel has ever known.鈥�
In a similar vein, Herzog played on Biden鈥檚 first name, deeming him 鈥渂oth a visionary and a leader鈥� like the biblical Joseph. Biden was 鈥渢ruly among family鈥� in Israel, Herzog said.
In reply, Biden described the connection between the two countries as 鈥渂one-deep.鈥� He said: 鈥淲e have a full agenda over the next few days, because the relationship between Israel and the US covers every issue that matters to our mutual future. We are united in our shared values and our shared vision.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to say that our relationship with the state of Israel is deeper and stronger in my view than it鈥檚 ever been. With this visit, we鈥檙e strengthening our connections even further. We鈥檒l continue to advance Israel鈥檚 integration into the region.鈥�
The issue of Iran, particularly its nuclear program and regional meddling through proxy militias, tops the agenda for Biden鈥檚 visit 鈥� not just in Israel but also later when he visits 抖阴短视频.
Herzog referred on Wednesday to the 鈥渟ecurity challenges emanating directly from Iran and its proxies, threatening Israel and its neighbors and endangering our region.鈥�
Lapid said that he and Biden would 鈥渄iscuss building a new security and economy architecture with the nations of the Middle East,鈥� following US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.
Biden was 鈥渢ruly among family鈥� in Israel, President Isaac Herzog said. (AFP)
鈥淎nd we will discuss the need to renew a strong global coalition that will stop the Iranian nuclear program,鈥� he said.
Israeli officials said Biden鈥檚 visit would work toward what they called a Jerusalem Declaration on the US-Israel strategic partnership. One official said the joint declaration 鈥渢akes a very clear and united stand against Iran, its nuclear program and its aggression across the region and commits both countries to using all elements of their national power against the Iranian nuclear threat.鈥�
Indeed, before Biden had even left Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Israeli security officials had shown him their latest hardware, which they say is essential in confronting Iran 鈥� the new Iron Beam system of anti-drone lasers.
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Israeli officials have increasingly been sounding the alarm over Iran鈥檚 fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, which have already been used to attack 抖阴短视频 and the UAE. This month the Israeli military intercepted four Iranian-made drones launched by Hezbollah and headed for an offshore gas rig.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army showed Biden footage of drones being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system already in place, and the Iron Beam system which uses laser technology.
鈥淚t will be operational in very few years, it will be on the ground, integrated with Iron Dome,鈥� said Daniel Gold, head of research at Israel鈥檚 Defense Ministry.
He said the two systems would complement each other. 鈥淭hey will work together, and the brain of Iron Dome 鈥� the command and control 鈥� will decide in real time who is going to shoot, the laser or the missile,鈥� he said.
Presenting such technology to Biden is a strategic move for Israel, after Washington approved a billion-dollar package in September for the Iron Dome system.
After leaving the airport on Wednesday, Biden鈥檚 first stop was another rite of passage for every diplomatic visitor to Israel 鈥� a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial to pay his respects to the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War.
Joined by Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, both of whom are children of Holocaust survivors, Biden was invited to rekindle the eternal flame in the memorial's Hall of Remembrance.
A children鈥檚 choir sang a poem by Hannah Szenes, a female Jewish resistance fighter who was captured by the Nazis in Hungary and executed at the age of 23.
Two Marines placed a wreath on the stone crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims. Biden, wearing a skullcap, bent down to adjust it and placed his hand over his heart as the Marines saluted for a moment of silence.
Biden listened quietly as a cantor recited the remembrance prayer, before he greeted two Holocaust survivors 鈥� Rena Quint, 86, and Giselle Cycowicz, 95. Kissing the women on their cheeks, the president had tears in his eyes as he engaged them in conversation. 鈥淢y mother would say: 鈥楪od love you, dear鈥�,鈥� Biden told the women.
Quint later said she told Biden how her mother and brothers were killed in a death camp. Born in Poland, she was reunited with her father in a male slave labor factory, where she pretended to be a boy. Her father also was murdered. Quint arrived in the US in 1946 and was adopted by a childless Jewish couple.
Biden said he would emphasize in talks with Israel and Palestinian leaders his continued support for a two-state solution. (AFP)
鈥淒id you see the president hug me?鈥� she said after her encounter with Biden. 鈥淗e asked permission to kiss me and he kept on holding my hand and we were told not to touch him.鈥�
The president is spending two days in Jerusalem for talks with Israeli officials before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the West Bank.
Biden said he would emphasize in talks with Israel and Palestinian leaders his continued support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he said was the best way to ensure a 鈥渇uture of equal measure of freedom, prosperity and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike.鈥� But he acknowledged that it probably would not be feasible 鈥渋n the near term.鈥�
On Friday Biden will travel directly from Tel Aviv to Jeddah to meet King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, other Gulf state leaders and officials from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.
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