Michael Gabriel Hernandez
12 February 2021•Update: 12 February 2021
WASHINGTON
US President Joe Biden will "soon" call Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said Thursday after Israel's former UN envoy expressed frustration that the call had not yet occurred.
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the president "looks forward" to speaking with Netanyahu in what will be there first conversation since Biden took office Jan. 20, but she did not provide a timeline on when that might occur amid speculation of a rift between the leaders.
"He's obviously somebody that he has a long-standing relationship with, and obviously there's an important relationship that the United States has with Israel on the security front," Psaki said.
The comments come after Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador, put out a tweet noting all of Trump's calls since he assumed the presidency, pressing for a call to Netanyahu.
"@POTUS Joe Biden, you have called world leaders from #Canada #Mexico #UK #India #France #Germany #Japan #Australia #SouthKorea #Russia," Israel's former UN ambassador said hours before Biden also spoke with China's president.
"Might it now be time to call the leader of #Israel, the closest ally of the #US? The PM's number is: 972-2-6705555," he added.
Netanyahu was a close ally of Biden's former political rival, Donald Trump, and had worked during the former president's four-year term at upending long-held pillars of the two-state solution to achieve peace with the Palestinians.
