Biden embarks on first tour of Middle East as US President

• US President Joe Biden will arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a three-day trip to the Middle East.
• Israeli officials will call for greater action against Iran, while Palestinian leaders are disappointed by Washington’s failure to stop Israeli aggression.
• No major piece pronouncements are expected, so the visit may compound Palestinian dissatisfaction.

JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden will arrive in the Middle East on Wednesday for a tour during which Israeli officials will call for greater action against Iran, before travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Air Force One will land in Tel Aviv around 1230 GMT.

The 79-year-old president will meet with Israeli leaders seeking broader collaboration against Iran and Palestinian leaders disappointed by Washington’s failure to stop Israeli aggression.

Biden first visited the region after being elected to the Senate in 1973.

Iran and Israel were once allies, but Israel now considers Tehran a threat.

Yair Lapid, Israel’s temporary prime minister, said negotiations will focus on Iran.

Israel’s military will display to Biden its latest Iron Beam anti-drone laser shortly after he lands.

Israel says it would do all it takes to stop Iran’s nuclear programme and opposes restoring the 2015 deal that lifted sanctions.

Israel is putting up 1,000 flags in Jerusalem to welcome former US President Donald Trump, who said that the city is the capital of the Jewish state.

Palestinians say that east Jerusalem, which Israel has taken over, is their capital, and they have said that Biden is not being a fair mediator in the conflict.

Also Read

Biden Jerusalem trip: what to anticipate

Joe Biden is visiting Jerusalem as part of a Middle East trip....

Fatah leader Jibril Rajoub said, “We only hear empty words and no results.”

Biden will meet Abbas in Bethlehem on Friday, but no major peace pronouncements are expected, so the visit may compound Palestinian dissatisfaction.

Israel is in a stalemate ahead of the Nov. 1 elections, the fifth in less than four years.

The killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in May has made it harder for the US and Palestinians to work together.

The UN says the Palestinian-American was killed by Israeli fire, which Washington believes but says there’s no indication it was intentional.

Abu Akleh’s family is “outraged” by the Biden administration’s “abject response” to her death. The White House has not responded to their request to meet with the president in Jerusalem.

Also Read

Biden is up against a deadline In the American railroad labour dispute

 Joe Biden faces a deadline to intervene in U.S. railroad labor.  Covering...