Netanyahu congratulates Biden, ‘a great friend of Israel’

Netanyahu said he and Biden had "a long and warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel."

Jerusalem: Israel Prime Minister and close Donald Trump ally Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory early Sunday, calling the United States president-elect “a great friend of Israel”.

“I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the US and Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter, referring to Biden and running mate Kamala Harris.

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Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel. I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel.

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) November 8, 2020

Netanyahu, whose Twitter account features a picture of himself seated next to Trump, said he and Biden had “a long and warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel.” The Israeli premier had described Trump as his country’s strongest-ever ally in the White House, and the Republican advanced policies that delighted the Israeli prime minister’s right-wing base.

Trump unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — an agreement between Tehran and world powers loathed by Netanyahu — and recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital.

He also endorsed Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights — which was seized from Syria — and avoided criticising Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.