news
Political-political
Bennett will ask Biden not to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Syria for fear of Iranian establishment
The prime minister is also expected to recommend the establishment of a defensive regional coalition involving Israeli and Arab countries, a senior Prime Minister entourage said, adding that "the issue of US forces in Iraq is critical."
Tags
United States
Joe Biden
Naftali Bennett
Anthony Blinken
Barak Ravid, Walla!
To Washington
Thursday, 26 August 2021, 05:43 Updated: 17:00
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
0 comments
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will meet tonight (Thursday) at 6:30 PM (Israel time) with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
Bennett is expected to ask Biden that the United States will not withdraw its forces from Iraq and Syria, because such an exit could serve Iran and strengthen it, a senior Israeli official said, adding that "the issue of American forces in Iraq is critical."
Since the assassination of Quds Force Commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Suleimani, by the US in January 2020, pressure has increased on the Iraqi government on both Iran and Shiite militias to expel US troops from the country. U.S. troops in Iraq, leaving only a few thousand soldiers for Iraqi military training missions alone.
More on Walla!
White House officials: If diplomacy with Iran fails, we will consider acting in other ways
To the full article
More on Walla!
Bennett meets with US Secretary of Defense: "The administration is committed to Israel's security and its right to defend itself"
Thousands of Palestinians demonstrate on the Gaza border: the IDF has used means to disperse demonstrations
"Minimum price, maximum content": STINGTV from yes with a benefit not to be missed
Agreed to promote the issue of visa exemption to the US. Bennett and Linken (Photo: Government Press Office, Avi Ohayon)
Bennett will also present to Biden an idea for the establishment of a defensive regional coalition in which Israeli companies and Arab states will be in favor of establishing the normalization achieved following the Abrahamic agreements.
The senior Israeli official believes that such a regional coalition will help curb Iranian aggression and its ambitions to take over the region.
Bennett is also expected to recommend the establishment of a joint Israeli-American team to deal with the Iran issue.
Yesterday, Bennett met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
During their meeting, Bennett raised the issue of granting an exemption from the need for a visa to enter the United States (visa) for Israelis.
This issue has been on the agenda for many years, and has recently been promoted and renewed by the Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Gilad Ardan. The Iranian issue has been central to all of Bennett's talks so far in Washington.
"If diplomacy with Iran fails, the US administration will consider acting in other ways."
Bennett and Lloyd (Photo: Government Press Office, Avi Ohayon)
A senior official in the Prime Minister's entourage said that Bennett's achievement in the meeting with Blinken was that the latter provided "political guidance" to the US State Department in favor of advancing the issue and resolving the remaining disputes over the matter.
The Prime Minister's entourage hopes that in a meeting with President Biden he will also address the issue.
One of the controversies surrounding the promotion of the visa waiver has to do with the fact that there have been reports of abuse of American citizens of Palestinian descent at Israeli border crossings, as well as due to a long list of technical issues that need to be resolved.
"The issue of visas will not be resolved tomorrow, but the US State Department has been instructed from above to do so. We also need to do all sorts of things for this to happen but there is no reason why Israel should not end up in the US visa waiver program," the Israeli official said.
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
0 comments
