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Netanyahu meets with U.S. senators from Abraham Accords Caucus
January 18, 2023
Bipartisan delegation discusses strengthening relations with Israel's Arab allies and adding more countries to normalization agreement
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators during their visit to the Jewish state as part of a tour of countries that signed the Abraham Accords.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the delegation from the Abraham Accords Caucus discussed the strong relations that have developed among the countries that normalized relations with Israel in 2020 and the potential for even greater cooperation. During the meeting in Jerusalem, they also talked about expanding the Abraham Accords to include more countries as well as countering the Iranian threat.
The Abraham Accords Caucus in the U.S. Senate was launched one year ago by Republican senators James Lankford of Oklahoma and Joni Ernst of Iowa, along with Democratic senators Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Cory Booker of New Jersey. Lankford and Rosen are currently leading a group of five senators on a tour of Israel and its Arab allies from the Abraham Accords -- the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain (Sudan also joined the pact).
Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand from New York, Michael Bennet from Colorado, and Mark Kelly from Arizona are on the trip along with Republicans Dan Sullivan from Arkansas and Ted Budd from North Carolina.
Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer also attended the Jerusalem meeting as well as the head of the National Assembly Tzachi Hanegbi, and the ambassadors of the two countries - the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog, and the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides.