Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Thursday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the two allies' highest level in-person talks since Israel's most right-wing government ever took power last month.
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Sullivan's visit comes amid unease in Washington over Netanyahu's policies and over several members of the governing coalition. Earlier in January, Sullivan met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who appealed to the Biden administration to stop the Israeli government from pressing ahead with escalatory measures against the Palestinians.
The new Israeli coalition's policies "are destroying the remaining chances of achieving peace and stability in the region," Abbas told Sullivan, according to a statement from his office. He urged the United States "to intervene before it is too late to stop these unilateral measures."
In Jerusalem, a statement from Netanyahu's office said the two discussed Iran's nuclear program and ways to broaden normalization agreements reached under the Trump administration with four Arab countries.
"I've known President (Joe) Biden for 40 years as a great friend of Israel," Netanyahu told Sullivan, according to footage released from the meeting. "We see you as a trusted partner in matters of assuring security and, of course, advancing peace."
Sullivan told Netanyahu that Biden's "commitment to the state of Israel is bone-deep," a "commitment that's rooted in shared history, shared interests and shared values."
Israel's new government has already proven to be a headache for the Biden administration, with far-Right cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visiting the Temple Mount. That visit was within the agreed arrangement with the Palestinians, but they still condemned it.
Video: Reuters / Palestinian President Abbas meets with White House advisor Sullivan in Jerusalem
The coalition has also been taking combative steps against the Palestinian Authority in response to its actions to support terrorism. Netanyahu told Sullivan that the measures, including halting Palestinian construction in parts of the West Bank and withholding badly needed tax revenues from the PA that Israel collects on its behalf, represented a necessary response to the Palestinians pushing the UN's highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria.
From Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas stressed to Sullivan the importance of the US exerting pressure on Israel to halt its settlement construction and its "daily killings and incursions into Palestinian cities and towns."
Abbas also called on Sullivan to reverse the Trump administration's punitive steps against the Palestinians by restoring the US Consulate in Jerusalem that oversees American ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and reopening the Palestine Liberation Organization's office in Washington.
During his talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Thursday, Sullivan "underscored the urgency of avoiding unilateral steps by any party that could inflame tensions on the ground," the White House National Security Council said.
US officials have previously expressed concerns about at least two far-right senior Cabinet ministers, Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have expressed vehement anti-Palestinian views in the past. Nonetheless, Washington has said it will engage with Netanyahu's government based on its policies and not on personalities.
Sullivan also met Thursday with senior Israeli security officials, including the head of the Mossad. He and Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi held virtual discussions with their Bahraini and Emirati counterparts about how to deepen cooperation in "clean energy, emerging technology, regional security, and commercial relations," the White House said. Israel normalized ties with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in US-backed agreements in 2020.
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