US President Joe Biden congratulated Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on his election victory as the incoming Israeli prime minister prepares to form one of the most right-wing governments in the country’s history. The White House said Monday that Biden called Netanyahu to praise Israel’s “free and fair election.” “The president reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral partnership and underscored his unwavering support for Israel’s security,” White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters. The call comes less than 24 hours before crucial US midterm elections that will test Biden’s popularity and decide the makeup of Congress. Netanyahu and his allies, including far-right parties and politicians accused of overt racism against Palestinians and Arabs, won their own elections last week, paving the way for the former prime minister’s return to power. Netanyahu had announced the call with Biden earlier in the day, saying he told the US president they could secure more normalization deals and “deal with the threat of Iranian aggression”. Rights advocates had called on the Biden administration to review its ties to Israel after the election results. J Street, a liberal Jewish-American group that described itself as pro-Israel and pro-peace, urged a reassessment of the US position on unconditional support for any Israeli government. “Under the looming far-right Israeli government that may form, this business-as-usual approach will be stretched to untenable limits,” the group said in a Nov. 2 statement. Last week, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US hoped “all Israeli government officials will continue to share the values of an open, democratic society, including tolerance and respect for all in civil society, particularly for minority groups”. On Monday, the White House’s Jean-Pierre said the US administration would “continue to closely monitor the process of government formation” in Israel. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Israeli government on our shared interests and values,” he said. Biden, a self-described Zionist committed to putting human rights at the center of US foreign policy, has often emphasized that the US commitment to Israel is “ironclad”. The US administration has refrained from criticizing Israeli policies against Palestinians, including frequent deadly military raids and continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. When Biden began his tenure in the White House in early 2021, it took him nearly a month to call Netanyahu, who was in power in Israel at the time, raising questions about the relationship between the two leaders. Netanyahu has close ties to former Republican President Donald Trump. However, Biden often expresses personal admiration for Netanyahu despite their political differences.
