Israeli premier says his visit to Washington achieved its goals

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that his visit to Washington was successful and achieved its goals.

Bennett started his first official visit to the US on Tuesday since he took power in June where he met with top officials, including President Joe Biden, State Secretary Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

"We had a particularly warm and helpful meeting. Biden and I have developed a direct and personal relationship built on trust," Bennett told reporters shortly before leaving the US capital.

On the Iranian file, Bennett said he and Biden "agreed on joint strategic cooperation to halt Iran's nuclear race."

On the situation in Gaza, Bennett said the Israeli army will continue to strike Gaza in response to the incendiary balloons fired from Gaza and to Palestinian protests on the strip’s border areas.

Following their meeting, the White House said in a statement that Biden stressed on Israel to take further steps to improve Palestinians' life conditions and to support economic opportunities for them.

Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority stopped in April 2014 as the former refused to halt settlement activities on occupied Palestinian lands.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara