Statements by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett before and after his Aug. 27 meeting with US President Joe Biden outlined the two main messages conveyed to the American administration: First, the Bennett government brings to Washington a fresh new spirit of dialogue and cooperation. The Israeli government is coming with a “new spirit of goodwill … of hope, a spirit of decency and honesty, a spirit of unity and bipartisanship,” he noted. Biden was evidently receptive to this message, saying, “It’s great that the prime minister is here. We have become close friends."

The second message concerned the Iranian issue. Israel’s government is keen to establish an intimate dialogue with Biden’s administration over the Iran talks so as to could impact the outcome. Biden has pledged that Iran won’t develop a nuclear weapon. Israel is hoping for more.

Bennett and Biden and their teams also discussed several other topics in the private meeting between the two leaders and in the larger White House meeting that followed, as well as Bennett's other meetings in Washington with US officials.

One of the topics Biden raised was the conflict with the Palestinians. In an Aug. 24 interview with the New York Times, Bennett had said his government would neither annex West Bank territory nor allow it to become a Palestinian state. Ahead of the meeting with Bennett, Biden said, “We also are going to discuss ways to advance peace and security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians." Bennett did not address the issue in his statements during the visit.