Biden invites Israeli PM to visit Washington: PM's office

JERUSALEM, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to visit Washington by U.S. President Joe Biden during a phone conversation on Monday.

The prime minister's office said in a statement that the two leaders had "a long and warm conversation," the first time in months, and Biden extended an invitation for Netanyahu to visit the White House "soon."

The talk focused on bolstering the bond between the two close allies, Iran and the needed efforts to de-escalate violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the statement.

They also talked about continuing the integration of Israel in the Middle East, a process that began in 2020 with the signing of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, in which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco agreed to normalize ties with Israel.

The Biden administration has expressed growing frustration over the Israeli government's controversial plan to overhaul Israel's judicial system and undermine the power of the Supreme Court, approve more homes for Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and retroactively authorize Israeli settlement outposts that were built without government permits.

Since Netanyahu regained power in late December as the leader of the country's most right-wing government in history, Biden has refrained from inviting him to the White House.

In late March, Biden described Netanyahu's coalition government as "extremist" and told reporters that he would not welcome him to Washington "in the near term."

On Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog flew to Washington to meet with Biden and address Congress.