Biden-Netanyahu Phone Call Shows 2 Enemies of Diplomacy in Commonurrence
In the thicket of international diplomacy, one of the most symbiotic (to use a euphemism) relationships is that between the United States and Israel. The delicate balance of such considerations was underscored by the recent phone call U.S President Joe Biden held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As the world turns its head towards an escalatory Middle Eastern grievance, central disputes in this holy land involve two things: foremost political dynamics and ultimately preserving stability within the region.
Source of Strength #1: The Geopolitical Motive From a Security Perspective
Indeed, the urgency of mutual regional stability is at the heart of Biden's phone call to Netanyahu. The Middle East, especially Israel, continues to be a hot topic with Iran expanding its power projection, Palestinian issues, and the violent situation in neighboring countries. Even as the Biden administration deals with issues at home, it will not be able to overlook Israel's key standing as a strategic partner in such a volatile area.
A Brewing Iran Dilemma: Of paramount concern for both leaders is the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran. For Israel, a nuclear-armed Iran is an existential threat; the U.S. simply wants to avoid another full-scale regional war. Like his predecessor, Biden seeks to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb; an objective traditionally kept under written diplomatic agreements and dismissed as yet another attempt at appeasement by Netanyahu. The strategy divide has undercut his bond with Netanyahu, driven by the prime minister's preference for taking a hard line compared with Biden's diplomatic approach.
The Palestinian Question: A 3rd critical issue is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Biden has expressed his preference for a two-state solution so that Israel and Palestine can peacefully coexist. But the Netanyahu government faced growing criticism after it intensified settlement expansion in the West Bank, which includes Palestinian territories. Biden's calls for additional humanitarian assistance to Gaza and new peace talks point to a difference in priorities with Netanyahu, and that could exacerbate pressures on their diplomatic discussions.
Biden most likely stressed that the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip must not escalate any further during the call, while Netanyahu repeated Israel's right to defend itself. This balancing act — between what the U.S. needs to be peaceful and what Israel needs to avoid destruction — signals a constant crisis in their union.
Factor #2:
In addition to concerns about regional stability, the Biden-Netanyahu conversation was also affected by domestic political considerations in the US and Israel. The pressure that each leader faces at home has continued to shape their foreign policy positions and diplomatic moves.
Kamala in Biden Land: President Kamala Harris has presumably taken the Sixties, her deputies too old to stop her, emerging to make Free Love and Bio-Cide policy while Joe … leaves a legacy. That is a distraction from his being a sensible centrist on Israel and many other issues that crazy-progressive voters are locked in opposition to. Biden is caught between the pressure from his base and the tradition of a strong U.S. alliance with Israel. For Biden, the balancing act is critical: He wants to signal he has America's back overseas while telegraphing empathy for suffering Palestinians, all without turning off pro-Israel voters.
Netanyahu's problems: Meanwhile, Netanyahu faces political challenges of his own. He is Israel's longest-serving prime minister and the opposition within Israel grows. Netanyahu is in a tenuous position as protests over his plan to overhaul the judiciary and questions related to his handling of the economy and security have grown. The ANZUS treaty remains a bedrock of his leadership and Trump needs to cultivate good relations with Biden to maintain some semblance of involvement in the global political order. How might Netanyahu view the Biden-Netanyahu relationship in this regard?
The Abraham Accords — An area on which both leaders could find common ground is the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and some Arab nations facilitated by the Trump administration. And Biden has trod lightly in his support of these accords, knowing the likelihood that these could remold the Middle East. Netanyahu is likely to lobby the U.S. for more help in rolling out the agreements to bring other Arab countries on board, including Saudi Arabia. Their shared goal in the arena of regional diplomacy might structure their relationship — an agreed-upon field for competition among their divisions.
The Delicate Path Forward
On the surface, the Biden-Netanyahu phone call was business as usual, but beneath the veneer of politeness lie far-reaching trends in America's ties with Israel. Both leaders also have strong incentives to keep in touch given geopolitical forces that eclipse shared security concerns towards Iran and the region. But the diplomats of a previous era are confronted with an entwined domestic political dance Biden and Netanyahu must play while keeping open channels of communication at the most senior levels.
From this point, the Biden-Netanyahu relationship may well be one of tension and cooperation. The two leaders both understood the strategic necessity of their alliance, but their contrasting approaches — particularly on Iran and the Palestinian issue — will persistently strain it. In the case of both, they will have to bridge gaps through the promotion of coexistence such as those found in the Abraham Accords, cooperation between security officials, and/or de-escalation in Gaza – imbued with a complex mix of domestic and international pressures.
Conclusion: A Moment of Truth in the Relationship Between Israel and the United States
The Biden-Netanyahu phone call is a microcosm of the ever-unfolding interactions between Israel and the U.S. as viewed from the international stage. Every conversation, every decision, every policy is driven at its core by two behemoth, mostly uncompromising and apparently mutually exclusive forces: regional stability and pure domestic politics. The stakes are high for Biden, but they are even higher for Netanyahu, not just in Israel but also across the Middle East and beyond.
The world is watching as this historic, albeit sometimes awkward alliance enters a crucial phase. Can Biden and Netanyahu navigate a path that dovetails with their geopolitical aims as well as domestic political realities? We will not know for sure till time tells but this is for sure that their relationship is going to remain the one of most important diplomatic ties affecting global affairs.
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