US asserts President Biden is 'not ignoring' Israeli PM Netanyahu and will call him soon

The United States on Friday asserted that President Joe Biden was not intentionally ignoring Israel by not calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since his inauguration on January 20. When asked if Biden was intentionally snubbing Netanyahu, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said "It is not an intentional diss", adding the President is looking forward to speaking with the Israeli PM. "I can assure you that will be soon, but I don’t have a specific time or deadline — or time or date for when that will occur," Psaki said. 

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"It is not an intentional diss.  Prime Minister Netanyahu is someone the President has known for some time.  Obviously, we have a long and important relationship with Israel, and the President has known him and has been working on a range of issues that there’s a mutual commitment to for some time.  It is just a reflection of the fact that we have been here for three and a half weeks, he’s not called every single global leader yet, and he is eager to do that in the weeks ahead," Psaki said. 

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Biden has spoken to other leaders

Biden has spoken to several leaders across Asia and Europe, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, British PM Boris Johnson, Indian PM Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison, South Korean counterpart, among others. Most of these countries represent Washington's vital interests, like in the case of India and South Korea, which will help the US in countering threats from China. President Biden has not spoken to Middle-Eastern countries so far and Israel is among them. 

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Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Llyod Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have already spoken to their Israeli counterparts. Biden had called Netanyahu after winning the presidency in November, however, he has not called him after assuming office last month, which is creating political noises inside Israel. Also, note that Netanyahu enjoyed a very good relationship with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. 

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