U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Naftali Bennett, Israel's prime minister, shake hands while meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021.© Bloomberg U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Naftali Bennett, Israel’s prime minister, shake hands while meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021.Most Read from Bloomberg

Biden underscored his commitment to promoting stability in the Middle East, including “Israelis and Palestinians enjoying equal measures of security, freedom, and prosperity,” according to the statement. He told Bennett on Sunday he “looks forward to a visit later this year.”

Biden and Bennett met at the White House in August, after which the Israeli leader said they had agreed to pursue a joint strategy to halt Iran’s nuclear program.

The U.S. is engaged in diplomacy for a possible return to the Iranian nuclear deal abandoned by former President Donald Trump, though a breakthrough has remained elusive.

Israel’s cabinet in December approved a plan to double the Jewish population in the southern Golan Heights in a bid to cement control over the territory. The Trump administration officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019, departing from longstanding U.S. and international policy. The Biden administration has not challenged that decision.

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