Biden to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia around July 14-15 according to report

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia in July, American and Israeli media reported late Sunday, based on sources in the White House.

The specific dates of the visit are not confirmed, but the president is expected to arrive in Israel around July 14 or 15, according to Barak Ravid, writing for Axios.

Biden would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Isaac Herzog, and then visit Bethlehem for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Biden is expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority on July 14 and 15 before traveling on to Saudi Arabia (July 15-16), Israeli officials tell me. My story on @axioshttps://t.co/BWq1bJexdH

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) June 12, 2022

In Saudi Arabia, he is likely to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), a White House source told Reuters, partially in an effort to persuade the Gulf leader to help stabilize global oil markets and American gas prices at the same time.

Average U.S. gas prices rose to $5 a gallon on Friday.

Biden, however, has alienated MBS, calling him a “pariah” during his election campaign for the crown prince's purported role in the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Saudi government has continued to deny any involvement in the murder.

There was no official release about the Biden trip. The White House had initially announced a planned trip to the region, which would have taken place this month, but that visit was pushed off.