On Wednesday, President Biden is set to make his first presidential visit to Israel. He is expected to meet with Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, before continuing on to Saudi Arabia to meet with Arab allies at the GCC+3 summit in Jeddah. President Biden is also set to announce $100 million in aid to Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem (reported by Barak Ravid at Axios).
This presidential visit comes amid looming elections in Israel, rumored upcoming breakthroughs in Israel-Saudi relations, and tensions over settlement construction.
In this Israel Policy Briefing, Michael Koplow (Chief Policy Officer), Shira Efron (Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Director of Policy Research), and Neri Zilber (Policy Advisor) assess opportunities and expectations for President Biden’s visit.