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Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Report: US, Israel discussed holding another regional forum when Biden visits
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The US and Israel have discussed holding a forum of regional leaders when US President Joe Biden visits Jerusalem late next month, Axios reports.
The idea for a summit of Biden, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and at least one Arab leader was raised during Israeli National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata’s meeting with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan last month, Axios says, citing two Israeli officials.
The proposal is still in its early stages, and it is not clear whether the confab would be held in Israel or another regional country or even take place at all, Axios clarifies. However, the goal is to build off of March’s Negev Summit when the foreign ministers of Israel, the US, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt gathered in Sde Boker for the first-ever regional gathering of its kind.
An advance team from the Biden administration arrived in Israel earlier this week in preparation for the president’s visit late next month, an official familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel, adding that the visit will also include a stop in the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Axios says Biden’s visit — his first to the Middle East as president — will only last 24 to 36 hours.
The White House has declined to comment on the report.
The Times of Israel Community.