Biden meets with Israeli president ahead of Israel's election for prime minister

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced Wednesday a new agreement between Israel and Lebanon that will be signed Thursday.

Biden, who is holding a bilateral meeting with Herzog, said the agreement will establish a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries and allow the development of energy fields for both countries.

The White House meeting is a follow-up to Biden's visit with Herzog in July during his trip to the Middle East.

“I think it's a historic breakthrough and took a lot of courage for you,” Biden said during remarks ahead of the meeting. “It took some real guts and I think it took principle and persistent diplomacy to get it done.”

The bilateral meeting comes before Israel's Nov. 1 election, as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, looks to pull off a political comeback by unseating Prime Minister Yair Lapid. A centrist, Lapid is chairman of the Yesh Atid party, while Netanyahu is chairman of Likud, a right-wing political party.

Herzog noted the coming United States and Israeli elections and said the meeting between the two leaders shows “that our friendship and strong bond transcends all political differences and opinions and parties.”

“I hope that together we can continue to work towards the well being of the State of Israel, the United States and the world at large,” Herzog added.

What will be discussed

• Iran will be a topic of discussion, Herzog said during remarks ahead of the bilateral meeting on Wednesday.

• Herzog, in a video address before his departure from Israel, said he intends to discuss Middle East peace, the Abraham Accords – which is a declaration that normalized diplomatic relations among Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco – and a new natural gas deal with neighboring Lebanon over their shared maritime border.

• The most important subject, Herzog said, will be the threat posed by Iran, which he called "destabilizing not only the Middle East but the entire world, requiring a firm and united stand against it."

• Herzog said they will also discuss climate change, which he called a "danger to the entire world and humanity," and opportunities for trade, business and diplomacy.

Ukraine could be top issue in Biden Herzog meeting

Biden and Herzog could discuss Israel’s role in the Ukraine and Russia war.

Osamah Khalil, a Syracuse University history professor who specializes in Middle East affairs, said the meeting between the leaders could have an impact on the United States' efforts to garner more support for Ukraine.

“If anything, you can see the U.S. really trying to get as many countries on board, especially those sitting on the sidelines that the US would have expected to come and haven’t, and Israel is one of those countries,” Khalil said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been critical of Israel after it denied a request to send anti-missile technology. If he returns to power, Netanyahu told USA TODAY last week that he would "look into" providing weapons to Ukraine.

Iran’s role in Ukraine-Russia war

During his meeting with Biden, Herzog is expected to reveal evidence of the use of an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle – or UAVs – in the war in Ukraine.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have heightened over the past couple of years as the two countries are engaged in a proxy war.

According to Herzog’s office, he will share images with Biden of the UAVs that show fragments are similar to vehicles that have been developed in Iran.

“Iranian weapons play a key role in destabilizing our world, and the international community must learn its lessons, now and in the future,” Herzog said in a statement.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that Biden and Herzog would discuss "a range of regional and global challenges of mutual concern, including the threat posed by Iran and its proxies."

What they're saying

• "President Biden looks forward to welcoming President Hertzog to the White House tomorrow, as you all know, a visit that will underscore the enduring partnership and friendship between the United States and Israel," Jean-Pierre said. "President Biden will also underscore his commitment to advancing peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond by deepening Israel's regional integration and normalization with the Arab world. And they will discuss ways to promote equal measures of freedom, prosperity and security for both Israelis and Palestinians."

• “I was surprised to see he was coming, not because the Israeli president isn't welcome in the United States, but the Israeli president is not a position of great power in the Israeli system,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “In the Israeli system, the powerful position is prime minister, not president.”

• "The president is very much looking forward to meeting with President Herzog," White House spokesman John Kirby said Monday. "This is one of the most consequential bilateral relationships we have in the world, certainly in that part of the world. And there's an awful lot to discuss, especially as a follow-up to the president's visit to the region just this past summer, and his efforts and goals in trying to seek a broader, more integrated cooperative Middle East and of course, Israel lies at the heart of that in so many ways."

Contributing: Maureen Groppe

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden meets with Israeli President ahead of prime minister elections