US President Joe Biden holds a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York City, September 20, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

During talks in New York, Biden reiterated his commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and also repeated his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But the biggest issue on the agenda was a US-led push to forge diplomatic relations between longtime foes Israel and Saudi Arabia, the centerpiece of broader complex negotiations that involve US security guarantees and civilian nuclear help sought by Riyadh as well as Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.

“We can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said.

A senior Biden administration official told reporters after the meeting that it was understood that some concessions to the Palestinians must be part of any deal but did not say what those might be. 

The official said a normalization deal is still a long way away and that all the leaders involved will have to do “some very hard things” to reach agreement.