“It’s not all Israel now in the West Bank, all Israel’s problem, but they are a part of the problem and particularly those individuals in the cabinet who say, ‘We can settle anywhere we want. They have no right to be here, etc.,’” Biden said. “And I think we were talking with them regularly, trying to tamp down what’s going on, and hopefully, Bibi will continue to move toward moderation and change.”
Since the new Israeli government was sworn-in in January, the US President has yet to invite Netanyahu to the White House. When asked by Zekaria whether he would invite the Prime Minister to the White House, Biden avoided a direct answer and said only that Israel’s President Isaac Herzog was coming soon to the White House for a visit.
Later in the interview, Biden also discussed his trip to Saudi Arabia last year, stating a number of successes that came from the visit, such as establishing Israeli flights over Saudi Arabia.
When asked if the US would provide the Saudis with a defense treaty and civilian nuclear capacity, as Riyadh has requested, Biden said, “We’re a long way from there.”
“Whether or not we would provide a means by which they can have civilian nuclear power and/or be a guarantor of their security – I think that’s a little way off,” Biden said.
