Of light of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the US and Israel, President Joe Biden will not shake hands with Prime Minister Yair Lapid on his tour to the Middle East.
The White House informed Lapid’s office that Biden, 79, will forego the customary handshake when visiting heads of state on Wednesday in an effort to safeguard him, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The decision was made in the midst of a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in both Israel and the United States.
According to the most recent information provided by the CDC, the seven-day average in America has increased to 133,907, up more than 20,000 from previous month.
According to research from John Hopkins University, Israel is currently experiencing an average of 7,300 new cases each day, up from 4,800 just one month ago.
In order to prevent Biden from contracting COVID, the White House has tightened COVID security measures around him.
According to The New York Times, among those procedures include mandating that employees wear N95 masks and undergo weekly and on the day of meetings with Biden testing.
Days before Biden travels to the two nations as part of a regional trip, Lapid had voiced optimism that his nation would forge official diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Although Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal diplomatic connections, they share a mutual hatred of Iran, the region’s main foe.
It is widely assumed that the monarchy is one of the few Arab nations considering establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.
Lapid said during a weekly Cabinet meeting that “Israel extends its hand to all the countries of the area and calls on them to form relationships with us, establish partnerships with us, and rewrite history for our children.”
When Biden travels to Saudi Arabia, he will bring with him “a message of peace and optimism from us,” he claimed.
When Biden travels to Saudi Arabia this week as part of a bigger tour, he will also have a meeting with the de facto ruler of the nation, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
President Biden will meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his government, including MBS, who is Salman’s heir apparent and the defense minister, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The King, the Crown Prince, and other Saudi government ministers will all be present for the president’s bilateral program, the president was informed on Monday.
Under Biden’s administration, ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia have gotten worse.
After U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that MBS authorized the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018, he denounced the kingdom as a “pariah state” and dubbed it.
But at a time when petrol costs in the US are still high, Biden’s trip to the kingdom is seen as an opportunity to mend fences.
According to Ben Cahill, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Biden’s visit is highly crucial to Saudi Arabia and the GCC.”
They are reminded, in my opinion, of their importance to the world economy, the need for Washington to address their security concerns, and the Biden administration’s outreach to them.
Thus, his arrival is very important to them. He observed, “Managing the optics of that as plainly complicated.”
The issue of that handshake is just one of those intricate optics.
These official visits are typically highly orchestrated events that are planned for weeks in advance, including where officials will be seated and how the president can enter a room to initiate or forego a handshake.
Biden has been urged by human rights activists not to travel without bringing up Khashoggi’s murder.
The White House has stated that Biden will talk about human rights while on the trip, but it is unclear if Biden will specifically bring up the killed Washington Post journalist.
“We have spoken to Jamal Khashoggi’s family,” a spokesperson said. The president hasn’t personally interacted with them.
However, he has been concentrating on this problem since the beginning.
And as he declared when he assumed office and as we have upheld since then, our aim has been to rebalance but not to sever ties with Saudi Arabia in order to put an end to the “blank check” approach and to demand responsibility,’ Sullivan added.
Also defending his record on human rights is Biden.
I am aware that many people disapprove of my choice to visit Saudi Arabia. In a Washington Post op-ed, Biden stated that he has “clear and long-standing views on human rights.
Fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be throughout this trip and just as they will be in Israel and the West Bank.”
Early in his presidency, Biden declared that he would only deal with the ailing King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, whom he views as his equal. Biden has been reticent to deal with the crown prince.
While the president is in Saudi Arabia, Biden will meet with the monarch and his leadership team, which also happens to include MBS, the White House has made a point of stressing.
According to experts, the Biden administration’s decision to penalize Russia in reaction to its invasion of Ukraine is what has led to the high gas prices in the United States, which are an issue from the Saudi perspective.
Despite Biden’s reluctance to interact with the crown prince, Martin Indyk of the Council on Foreign Relations stated that the Saudi government believes that “now the president’s going to have to eat crow and kiss the ring.”
Both parties must realize that they must cooperate with one another in order to forge ahead with a better partnership, he stated.
There must be a practical agreement reached on this trip, according to Indyk, in which MBS, the crown prince, agrees to increase oil production in exchange for President Biden releasing him from jail.
Biden will attend the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, while he is in Saudi Arabia.
He will begin his journey in Jerusalem, where he will meet with Palestinian and Israeli officials.
In all of his engagements, he will emphasize regional cooperation and its mutual benefits.
In order to oppose Iran, the administration favors greater Arab security relations with Israel.
Additionally, Biden will discuss his goals for the area.
He will make a significant announcement at that conference about the Biden administration’s policy and his goals for the Middle East, according to Sullivan.
During the visit to Saudi Arabia, discussions will also center on the war in Yemen, which Washington wants Riyadh to do more to end.
There will be tight observation of the itinerary, particularly the meeting with King Salman.
Regardless of the appearance, it is still unknown whether petrol costs in the United States will decrease following the trip.
The Biden administration applauded the decision by Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase its output by more than 200,000 barrels per day last month.