US: Today's Biden-Bennett Meeting Set For 1130ET

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will hold his first meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House this morning at 1130ET (1630BST, 1730CET). The meeting between the two men represents a major shift in US-Israeli relations, with the previous White House meeting between the nations' leaders between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

• Biden administration has almost actively avoided getting involved in Israeli politics and foreign policy, most notably during the Gaza offensive in May 2021. Biden likely to advocate a slowdown in settlement building in the West Bank, but unlikely to seek any major changes in Israeli policy that could destabilise Bennett's fragile governing coalition.
• There remain significant differences on the Iranian nuclear deal, with Bennett matching Netanyahu in his opposition to the deal and notably US re-entry. The Biden White House has not stated that it will seek to rejoin the deal, but it is engaging in greater diplomatic efforts with the signatories of the Iran nuclear deal to get Tehran to come back into compliance with the agreement.
• Speaking with Reuters, a US official stated that Biden would also seek to reassure Bennett that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan does not indicate a 'deprioritization' of Israel or the Middle East.