Biden hosts Israeli president Herzog for White House sit-down

US President Joe Biden hosted his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday for the second such sit-down in the past year.

Biden touted the "simply unbreakable" bilateral relationship shared by the countries in brief remarks made before the leaders went behind closed doors.

"Welcome back -- pleasure to have you here," Biden told Herzog in the Oval Office.

Herzog said he is bringing "a message of greeting and gratitude from the people of Israel, the entire country of Israel, from all sides of the political spectrum."

The White House said in a statement that Herzog and Biden consulted on key issues, including "enhanced coordination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and Iran’s growing defense partnership with Russia."

"They noted the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship, based on the bedrock of shared democratic values, and discussed the need for a consensus-based approach to the judicial reform package," it said.

"They (also) discussed ongoing cooperation to develop technology-based solutions to shared global challenges like climate change, pandemics, and food insecurity.”

Biden also reiterated his commitment to maintaining a path for a "negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to the White House.

Herzog also met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the afternoon and thanked him for "pursuing such important goals as containing and limiting and stopping the Iranian nuclear program, building a regional coalition of nations that pursues peace and wants more and more integration of Israel in the region, (and) of course dealing with major challenges of humanity where Israel can contribute dramatically."

"We are deeply committed to working together in dealing with the challenge posed by Iran, particularly in making sure that it never acquires a nuclear weapon," Blinken said in response.

Herzog, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday, will deliver a joint address to Congress on Wednesday morning.

The speech will be boycotted by progressive Democrats, including prominent lawmakers Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American female lawmaker in Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ilhan Omar. The decision to protest the Israeli president's speech comes amid growing rifts among Democrats over maintaining the US's unwavering support for Israel.

The White House announced Monday that Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to have a one-on-one meeting before the end of the year. The details are still being worked out, but Netanyahu has long sought a White House sit-down with Biden.

In March, Biden said he would not sit down with the Israeli leader "in the near term" due to a judicial overhaul plan Netanyahu is pursuing that critics say will destroy Israel's system of checks and balances.

Tensions with the US have also been exacerbated by the Israeli government's decision to significantly expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law and which the US has maintained are a barrier to efforts to achieve an elusive two-state solution to the conflict. Statements from far-right members in Netanyahu's Cabinet have also led to repeated rows.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden's decision to meet with Netanyahu does not mean "that we have less concerns over these judicial reforms or less concerns over some of the extremist activities and behavior by some members of the Netanyahu Cabinet.”

"Those concerns are still valid. They're disturbing," he said.