Israel, Arabs Agree to Tighten Cooperation Ahead of Biden Visit

Israel, Saudi Arabia see Biden visit importance to regional power

President Biden’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia, scheduled for mid-July, is one of those things officials think must go right. The visits emphasize both nations’ respective regional power and influence, and Biden’s support for various positions of both.

It was agreed among officials from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and several affiliated Arab states to make a show of “tight cooperation” for the next couple of weeks, to avoid any dispute that might mar Biden’s visit.

That’s important for the US, which has invested heavily in Israel having a rapprochement with a handful of carefully selected Sunni Arab states. For Biden, the visit is at least in part a victory lap for that.

For decades, Israel and the Arab states didn’t have the best of relations, and old habits die hard, with rapprochement coming fast. Making a show of getting along doesn’t come so natural, but everyone agrees they need to at least try.

Talks probably won’t be a problem once Biden arrives, as Israel will probably want to talk about Iran, while Biden will want to push the Saudis for more oil production to try to bring prices down.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.