The tour will see Joe Biden try and mend ties with Saudi Arabia to persuade Riyadh and other Persian Gulf allies to pump out more oil in the markets as the White House faces mounting criticism over the soaring oil prices.
Biden, boarding Air Force One, landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Al-Lydd, occupied Palestine, and bumped fists with Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid. In a speech he delivered upon his arrival, Biden said the US connection with the Israeli occupation was "bone-deep".
"You do not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist," Biden stressed while restating his support for a "two-state solution", which he claimed would be "the best hope for Israel and the Palestinians."
During his speech, Biden made no mention of Iran despite the escalating tensions between Tehran and "Tel Aviv" and Washington's disagreements with the Islamic Republic over the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"Your relationship with Israel has always been personal," Lapid told Biden during a speech, calling him "a great Zionist and one of the best friends Israel has ever known."
The US president will spend two days in occupied Al-Quds for talks with Israeli officials and then take to the occupied West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday. He will then pack his bags and head to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The trip to Saudi will mark the first of its kind made by a US President. Biden will hold talks with Saudi officials and then attend a Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) summit.
"We're making steps gradually toward that end," said an Israeli official, adding that the fact Biden will fly directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia "encapsulates a lot of the dynamics that have been evolving over the last months," perhaps in reference to a looming normalization agreement between Riyadh and the Israeli occupation.
Riyadh and "Tel Aviv" normalizing ties are "inevitable," former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Joseph Westphal said Monday, urging US President Joe Biden to mend ties with the kingdom during his trip to the Persian Gulf state.
The Biden administration has been cooperating closer and closer with Saudi Arabia in recent months, especially on the Saudi-led war on Yemen, as Washington pushed Riyadh to extend an armistice with Sanaa. Biden also went as far as praising the role of Saudi officials in the armistice, saying that the country "demonstrated courageous leadership" just because it decided to stop dropping bombs on Yemeni civilians - as it has been doing for nearly a decade.
Israeli officials have revealed that the visit will also include what they called the "Jerusalem Declaration" on the US-"Israel" Strategic Partnership.
Biden is likely to face questions from the Israeli occupation and the Persian Gulf Arab states, namely Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about the wisdom of Washington's attempts to revive the JCPOA.
US president said, in an interview taped ahead of the four-day trip, that the ex-tenant of the White House made a 'gigantic mistake' withdrawing the US from the (JCPOA.
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