Biden says US Israeli relations are ‘ironclad’ in first meeting with Netanyahu

Given the concerns about Mr Netanyahu’s commitment to democratic checks and balances, the setting of the meeting in Manhattan instead of the Oval Office was a sign of the strains in the alliance

President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York (Susan Walsh/AP/PA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Joe Biden on Wednesday for the first time since Mr Netanyahu took office at the helm of his country’s far-right government late last year.

The lengthy delay in setting up the Biden meeting and the White House decision to hold it on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly rather than in Washington have been widely interpreted as signs of US displeasure with Netanyahu’s new government.