Biden, Netanyahu to meet at UN General Assembly

NEW YORK (AFP): US President Joe Biden will meet with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, a White House official said, after months of tensions.

The pair will meet to discuss “the shared democratic values between the United States and Israel and a vision for a more stable and prosperous and integrated region, as well as to compare notes on effectively countering and deterring Iran,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters Friday.

Netanyahu had announced earlier this month that he would visit the United States, one of Israel’s staunchest allies — but initially there had been no plans for meeting with US officials during the trip, an unusual case for visiting Israeli leaders.

Biden has criticized the judicial overhaul that Netanyahu’s hard-right government is advancing, which opponents describe as a threat to democracy in Israel.

Netanyahu has yet to be invited to the White House since returning to power in December at the helm of what Biden had described as “one of the most extremist” administrations in Israeli history.

In July, the White House said Biden and Netanyahu would “meet in the United States later this year,” without providing further details.