U.S. Secretary of State Blinken Congratulates Prime Minister Yair Lapid

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday night to congratulate him on assuming his new role.

A State Department statement said Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ “unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Israel partnership, Israel’s security, and to countering shared threats, including those from Iran.”

He also emphasized U.S. support for a negotiated two-state solution as part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The White House announced that Biden would visit the region. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden would visit the region on July 13-16.

Israel will be the U.S. president’s first stop. He will meet with top state officials upon his arrival, and express “the United States’ iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security and prosperity,” the statement said. 

Biden will then travel to Ramallah, where he will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and reiterate his administration’s “strong support for a two-state solution, with equal measures of security, freedom, and opportunity for the Palestinian people.

“From there, he will then go on to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where he’ll attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. The President appreciates King Salman’s leadership and his invitation.  He looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades.”