Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first Middle Eastern leader to receive a phone call from US President Joe Biden, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declared on Tuesday.
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The conversation is expected to take place "soon," she added during her press briefing.
The issue of the phone call has made Jerusalem anxious. It made headlines last week when former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon urged the American president to call the Israeli leader via a tweet that went viral.
Netanyahu dismissed any notion that Biden was intentionally excluding him, telling Channel 12 News on Monday that the American president "will call ... We have had very strong friendly relations for nearly 40 years, dating from the time I came to Washington as an Israeli diplomatic representative and he was a young senator from Delaware."
Psaki also addressed the new administration's relations with Saudi Arabia, saying that those will likely see some shifts.
Instead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who fostered close ties with former President Donald Trump and his son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, Biden plans to communicate more with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Psaki said.
The shift could have some impact on Israel as well, with the King seen as more pro-Palestinian, while the Crown Prince was reportedly more open to forging ties with Israel without solving the Palestinian question first.
After taking over the White House, Biden phoned the leaders of America's neighbors, as well as its key European and Asian allies and rivals, while a call to the Israeli leader was notably absent.
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Both the US and Israel sought to downplay the fact, rejecting the media speculations it indicated a cooling in the ties between the two countries.
In a recent report, CNN hinted at the delay as retaliation for Netanyahu taking his time before congratulating Biden on his win in the November 3 election.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
