Israel: Naftali Bennett in the United States for his first state visit

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Wednesday August 25, 2021 at the Pentagon, with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Getty Images via AFP - WIN MCNAMEE

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2 min

The Israeli Prime Minister's first state visit takes him straight into the Oval Office of the White House to meet Joe Biden.

Naftali Bennett has one main subject in mind for this meeting, which was to take place at midday Washington time, Thursday, August 26, 2021: the overhaul of relations with Washington. 

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem, 

Michel Paul

It is the Iranian nuclear issue that the head of the Israeli government wants above all to talk about during this meeting with the President of the United States.

Naftali Bennett wants to try to convince his interlocutor to simply abandon the idea of ​​reinstating the agreement, the first version of which was

concluded in Vienna in 2015

.

The Prime Minister will present Democrat Joe Biden with a plan his government has carefully prepared since taking office two months ago.

The Israelis speak of a " 

new spirit of cooperation

 " with the American administration, which will undoubtedly be very different from the relations which prevailed between the predecessors of the two leaders, 

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu

.

While it will probably be easier for Joe Biden to chat with Mr. Bennett rather than his predecessor, things will not be easy.

Naftali Bennett has already set the tone in an interview with

The New York Times

 : no annexation in the

West Bank

, but no Palestinian state either, he proclaimed.

In an interview days before his meeting with President Biden, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of Israel said he opposed US efforts to restore a nuclear deal with Iran and ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians.

https://t.co/7MJQNbvd2m

- The New York Times (@nytimes) August 25, 2021

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  • Israel

  • United States

  • Palestinian territories

  • Iran

  • Diplomacy

  • Nuclear

  • Naftali Bennett

  • Joe biden