JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has arrived in Israel Wednesday in the first leg of his four-day Middle East tour. This is the 10th time Biden is visiting Israel, but his first as President.
Delivering remarks at an arrival ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Biden laid out his vision for the U.S.-Israel relationship and his strong commitment to Israel's security and future as a democratic and Jewish state.
The President then received a briefing on the Iron Dome and Iron Beam Air Defense Systems. The U.S. has strongly supported the Israeli defense system against potential attacks by Palestinian terrorits over the years, and the Biden administration supported it by providing $1 billion in the past year.
The new laser-enabled missile defense system called Iron Beam is being developed in partnership between the United States and Israel to help defeat threats coming from both state and non-state actors.
The President will then leave for Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, and lay wreath at the Holocaust Memorial.
On Thursday, Biden will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. They will cover a wide range of subjects, from the U.S.-Israel security relationship, to regional issues, to cooperation on science and technology. It will be followed by a press conference.
Biden will then engage with the President of the United Arab Emirates and the Prime Minister of Israel for the first time at the summit level in a new format called 'I2U2' - Israel, India, the United States and UAE.
'There will be a significant announcement around food security and agricultural technology' at the summit, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One en route Tel Aviv.
On Friday, Biden will meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem.
On the last leg of his Middle East tour, Biden will fly to Saudi Arabia to attend a regional summit.
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