Joe Biden to visit Israel, The West Bank and Saudi Arabia in July

The White House announced that President Joe Biden will make his first trip to the Middle East next month. He will make visits to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia. 
The decision to pay a call on Saudi leaders during the July 13 to July 16, 2022 trip comes after Biden as a Democratic presidential candidate branded the Kingdom a “pariah” because of its human rights record and pledged to recalibrate the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
According to a senior official Biden plans to meet with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom. This comes after President Biden, upon taking office declared that he would avoid any direct engagement with the crown prince and instead focus his engagements with King Salman. 
The decision comes at a time of  skyrocketing prices at the gas pump, growing worries about Iran’s nuclear program and perpetual concern that China is expanding its global footprint.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Human rights advocates along with  some Democratic allies cautioned Biden about visiting the oil-rich kingdom. They claimed that such a visit, without first getting human rights commitments, would send a message to Saudi leaders, who have been accused of using mass arrests, executions and violence to suppress dissent, that there would be no consequences to violations of human rights. 
 The Biden adminration along with his national security team have determined that freezing out the Saudis, particularly the crown prince, is simply not in the U.S. interest, thus the visit.  When faced with  questions earlier this month about a potential visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden stressed that the relationship had multiple facets that impact U.S. and Middle East security. He said “I am  not going to change my view on human rights,but as president of the United States, my job is to bring peace if I can, peace if I can. And that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
President Biden has been invited King Salman  during a gathering of the six GCC nations —Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — as well as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, at the port city of Jeddah.
The trip has been announced after two moves made Saudi Arabia this month. One, that it helped nudge the OPEC+ to ramp up oil production 648,000 barrels per day in July and August. Second, it agreed to extend a United Nations-mediated cease-fire in its seven-year war with Yemen, that Biden called “courageous.” According to officials MBS played a “critical role” in brokering an extension of the cease-fire. 
White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said, “While in Saudi Arabia, the President will discuss a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues with his counterparts. These include support to the UN-mediated truce in Yemen, which has led to the most peaceful period there since war began seven years ago.” The president will also discuss the means for expanding regional, economic, and security cooperation, including new and promising infrastructure and climate initiatives, as well as deterring threats from Iran, advancing human rights, and ensuring global energy and food security. 
Biden’s first stop during the Middle East swing will be in Israel for a long-planned visit with Israeli Prime Miner Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem. He will then meet with Palestinian Authority leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank. The trip to Israel comes at a politically fraught time. This includes Bennett’s fragile coalition, his attempts at averting another election and the potential return to power of former Prime Miner Benjamin Netanyahu. It also includes Iran’s advancing nuclear program. 
Israeli officials in their engagement with the Biden adminration have pressed their point of view that U.S. relations with Arab capitals, including Riyadh, are critical to Israel’s security and overall stability in the region. 
Biden’s time in Israel will coincide with the Maccabiah Games, a sporting competition that brings together thousands of Jewish and Israeli athletes from around the globe. Biden, who visited Israel for the first time as a young senator nearly fifty years ago, is also expected to meet with the athletes taking part in the games.
The Israeli visit will be followed his whirlwind  visit to Jeddah for the meeting of GCC leaders and talks with King Salman, the crown prince and other Saudi officials. The visit could also provide an opportunity to kick off talks for what the adminration sees as a long-term project of normalizing Israeli-Saudi relations.