Israeli politicians reacted on social media throughout Saturday following Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and US President Joe Biden's meeting on Friday.
The reactions were mostly split along coalition-opposition lines.
"I bless PM Bennet and POTUS Biden for a successful and exciting summit. The friendship between the nations is also based on good personal relationships between the leaders. The PM's successful visit contributed to Israel's security, future and political power," Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter.
מברך את ראש הממשלה, נפתלי בנט @naftalibennett ואת נשיא ארה״ב, ג'ו ביידן @POTUS על פגישת פסגה מוצלחת ומרגשת. הידידות בין העמים מבוססת גם על הקשרים האישיים הטובים בין המנהיגים. ביקורו המוצלח של ראש הממשלה תרם לבטחון ישראל, לעתידה ולעוצמתה המדינית. צילום: אבי אוחיון, לע"מ pic.twitter.com/SyEL6O9M5H
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 27, 2021
Fellow Yamina MK and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked focused on the effort to grant visa exemptions for Israelis visiting the US.
"An end to long waits for a visa to the US! After the successful round of the PM's meetings in Washington, the decision was made to speed up the process of bringing Israel into the visa exemption program," she wrote on Twitter. "I will make sure to advance the issue quickly and in collaboration with US Secretary of Homeland Security [Alejandro] Mayorkas, who has supported the move for a long time," she wrote.
She also thanked Israel's ambassador the US and UN Gilad Erdan for his efforts.
שמים סוף לתורים לקבלת ויזה לארה"ב! לאחר סבב הפגישות המוצלח של רה״מ בוושינגטון, הוחלט לזרז את הכנסת ישראל לתכנית הפטור מוויזות.אדאג לקדם את הנושא במהירות בשיתוף פעולה עם השר לביטחון המולדת האמריקאי, מיורקס, שתומך בתכנית זו כבר זמן רב. ותודה ל @giladerdan1 שפעל מול הממשל בעניין.
— איילת שקד Ayelet Shaked (@Ayelet__Shaked) August 28, 2021
Others were less complimentary, however. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the opposition's lead party the Likud, strongly criticized Bennett, saying, "for a picture at the White House, Bennett completely folded... He harmed the security of the State of Israel when he promised not to publically fight against Iran's return to the nuclear deal. This is a dangerous decision that combines ineptitude, irresponsibility and bad leadership."
בשביל תמונה בבית הלבן בנט התקפל לחלוטין מול ביידן ופגע בביטחון ישראל כשהתחייב שלא להילחם פומבית נגד חזרת איראן להסכם הגרעין. זו החלטה מסוכנת שמשלבת חוסר ניסיון, חוסר אחריות וחוסר מנהיגות. איראן דוהרת לפצצה והממשלה החלשה בישראל הוכיחה שהיא לא מתכוונת להילחם נגדה. pic.twitter.com/qKXaM86F8P
— הליכוד (@Likud_Party) August 28, 2021
"When the leader of a country receives 25 minutes for a meeting with Biden - this is a premeditated humiliation. Bennett's visit was a complete failure. Netanyahu would have been received better at the White House," Likud MK Ofir Akunis said in an interview with Yaara Shapira and Suleiman Maswadeh of Kan on Saturday evening.
Mossi Raz of Meretz, a member of the coalition, criticized the two leaders for ignoring the Palestinians.
"The Palestinians cannot be ignored," he wrote on Twitter. "During the hours of Bennett and Biden's meeting, Barel Hadarya Shmueli [the Border Police sniper who was critically wounded on the Gaza border], to whom I wish a speedy recovery, continued to fight for his life, and, on the other hand, a 12-year-old [Palestinian] boy [injured in border riots] died from his wounds. The Palestinian problem will remain until we arrive at a two-state solution."
Opposition MKs from the Joint List also criticized the meeting.
MKs Ahmad Tibi (Ta'al), Sami Abou Shahadeh (Balad) and Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) argued that the ongoing status quo is unacceptable.
"In the [so called] government of change, the occupation and its evils continue," Tibi wrote on Twitter. "This is called a status quo. It is therefore no surprise that the Palestinian issue is being pushed aside. All of the coalition's parties decided to ignore it."
"Both Bennett and Biden fully understand that there will not be stability or peace in the Middle East so long as the Israeli occupation and the abuse and oppression of the Palestinian people continues," Abou Shahadeh wrote. "But neither of them have the courage to come out and say the truth. In the Israeli political system, there is no partner for a just peace with the Palestinians."
"The two main principles that determined Netanyahu's foreign policy were warmongering and alarmism on Iran, and pushing away the Palestinian issue to the edges of political discourse, in order to prevent the option of the establishment of a Palestinian state," Touma-Sliman wrote. "Bennett's first US visit proves that these are also the two principles that are directing the government of 'change' sponsored by Meretz and Ra'am."