US President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, almost four weeks after entering the White House. Netanyahu's office said that the conversation “was very friendly and warm and lasted about an hour. The two leaders noted the longstanding personal connection between them and said they would work together to further strengthen the strong alliance between Israel and the United States."

Netanyahu’s office said they had discussed strengthening bilateral ties and building on the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries, brokered last year by the previous administration. They also spoke about “the Iranian threat and challenges of the region, agreeing to continue talks between them,” read the statement.

The White House did not comment immediately on the phone call. In a statement issued later in the day, Biden “affirmed his personal history of steadfast commitment to Israel’s security and conveyed his intent to strengthen all aspects of the US-Israel partnership, including our strong defense cooperation.” Biden himself confirmed to reporters at the White House that he had spoken on the phone with Netanyahu, saying they had a good conversation. He gave no other details.

Netanyahu had waited for this phone call for 27 days since Biden took office. Biden called several other world leaders over the past four weeks before the Israeli prime minister in what was perceived in Jerusalem as deliberate distancing and even humiliation of Netanyahu. Some analysts in Israel thought that by keeping silent, Biden was sending Netanyahu a message of discontent over his consistently siding with the Republicans under President Donald Trump and damaging the traditional American bipartisan support of Israel.