Biden expected in Israel on June 23, sources say; will also visit Saudi Arabia

U.S. President Joe Biden will be arriving in Israel on June 23 for his first official visit as president, a source told ALL ISRAEL NEWS.

Biden’s trip – also reported by the Hebrew website Ynet quoting Foreign Ministry sources – will include a stop at a hospital in East Jerusalem, as well as a visit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.

His packed two-day schedule will include a state reception when he lands at 11 a.m. and then a visit to the Iron Dome battery at Palmachim base to symbolize America’s contribution to Israel’s security, including the approval in September of $1 billion to replenish the missile-defense system.

Biden will also stop at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial before separate state visits with both Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Isaac Herzog.

From Israel, he will travel to other Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia. After getting off to a rocky start with the Kingdom and slamming its human rights record, Biden praised Saudi Arabia this week for agreeing to an extension of the ceasefire with Yemen.

“Saudi Arabia demonstrated courageous leadership by taking initiatives early on to endorse and implement terms of the UN-led truce,” Biden said in a statement after the 60-day extension of the cease fire was announced.

While Biden’s trip comes a year and a half after his inauguration, former U.S. President Donald Trump visited both Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of his first foreign trip as president within a few months of taking office.