Vice President Harris spoke to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE by phone on Thursday, after the Biden government condemned the International Criminal Court for “unfairly” targeting Israel in its new investigation.
In the summons, Harris praised Netanyahu for his peace negotiations with other countries in the Middle East and affirmed the US commitment to guarantee Israel’s security, especially with regard to Iran and its nuclear program.
“She expressed strong support for Israel’s recent innovative standardization agreements with countries in the Arab and Muslim world, and emphasized the importance of promoting peace, security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians, “says the press release of the summons.
Harris and Netanyahu also discussed COVID-19 and how the two countries can work together to fight the pandemic that took over the world a year ago.
“They discussed the importance of promoting scientific cooperation between our two countries and efforts to contain the pandemic COVID-19,” says the press release.
However, Netanyahu in a tweet later that day mentioned a “joint team” between countries to fight the virus that was not discussed in the press release.
שוחחתי עם סגנית נשיא ארה״ב קמלה האריס שבירכה על ההצלחה הגדולה של מבצע החיסונים בישראל. סיכמנו על הקמת צוות משותף להידוק שיתוף הפעולה במאבק בקורונה. סגנית הנשיא הביעה את ההתנגדות המוחלטת של הממשל האמריקני להחלטת התובעת התובעת של בית הדין הבינ״ל בהאג
– Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) March 4, 2021
The Hill contacted the White House for comment.
The two also discussed their “opposition” to the International Criminal Court, which conducts an investigation into alleged war crimes against Israel in the Palestine-Israel conflict.
The Biden administration believes that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel and that the investigation is “unfairly” targeting the country, according State Department spokesman Ned Price.