THE WEEK AHEAD: President Biden wraps up his Middle East trip; Putin and Erdoğan head out to meet Raisi in Iran; and Jewish settlers prepare to establish new West Bank outposts

• President Biden wraps up his regional visit

• Putin to meet with Erdoğan and Raisi in Iran

• New Jewish outposts in Judea-Samaria

• Israeli Labor party elects its leader

• U.S. envoy on anti-Semitism in South America

• Expected bread-price increase frozen, for now
  

PRESIDENT BIDEN WRAPS UP HIS REGIONAL VISIT

U.S. President Joe Biden returns to Washington after having spent a few days in Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia. During his visit to the Gulf, Saudi authorities gave permission for Israeli aircraft to fly over its territory, and announced direct flights from Tel Aviv to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage. The development is seen as a step toward normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

However, the big question following Biden’s trip is what will happen next with Iran. Talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal are expected to resume, with France saying that the window of opportunity will close in a few weeks. Biden told Israel that the United States is “not going to wait forever” for Iran to rejoin the deal, but refused to provide an explicit deadline for negotiations. The Islamic republic in Iran said last week it will not “back down from its rightful and logical stance” and the Iranian president advised Americans to “learn from their past mistakes.”

PUTIN TO MEET WITH ERDOĞAN AND RAISI IN IRAN

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Iran next week, to attend a meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to the Kremlin spokesperson, the trilateral talks will focus on Syria. It will be Putin’s second trip abroad since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It comes a week after U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed that U.S. Intelligence believes Iran is preparing to provide Russia with remotely piloted aircraft to use in Ukraine.

Russia and Iran have been involved in the Syrian civil war in recent years, supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey has been backing the Sunni rebels against Assad, but often coordinates its actions with Russia, which is still setting the tone in parts of the embattled country.

NEW JEWISH OUTPOSTS IN JUDEA-SAMARIA

A Jewish settlement group is promoting efforts to establish three outposts at the same time in undisclosed locations of the ancient Jewish heartland also referred to as the West Bank.

The initiative proposed by the Nachala Settlement Movement is expected to meet opposition from left-wing Peace Now activists. A report in The Times of Israel noted that the project has already prompted severe violence and has been backed by right-wing and religious public figures, including lawmakers and rabbis.

ISRAELI LABOR PARTY ELECTS ITS LEADER

Israeli campaigns are underway ahead of the Nov. 1 elections. Political parties have until Sept. 1 to forge and submit their final member lists in order to run in the elections. Several parties, like Netanyahu’s Likud and the left-wing Labor, typically hold primary elections to determine the ranking of each representative and to choose their chairperson.

The Labor party has scheduled Monday to choose its leader in the upcoming elections. There is a good chance that Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli, who currently heads Labor, will remain in the lead position. The same goes for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is likely to remain unchallenged as the head of Likud.

US ENVOY ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN SOUTH AMERICA

U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt will travel to Argentina and Chile this week. The ambassador will engage with local Jewish communities, government officials and civil-society representatives on actionable strategies and opportunities to counter anti-Semitism.

In Argentina, Lipstadt and Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan will participate in events commemorating the anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA [Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina] Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The July 18, 1994, attack, which saw 85 people killed and hundreds more injured, remains one of the deadliest attacks targeting Jews in the last half-century.

EXPECTED BREAD-PRICE HIKE FROZEN

The price of government-regulated bread in Israel was expected to rise a whopping 20% this week. But after a request from Economy Minister Orna Barbivay, Israel's large supermarket chains decided to hold off for now on passing along the increase to consumers.

The prices are impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which is o e of the world's largest exporters of wheat.

Israel’s inflation rate was at 4.4% in June – the highest it has been since 2008 – according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

This week, we are also keeping an eye on these developing stories:

• ... Is Biden’s visit to a hospital in East Jerusalem about health or politics?

• ... Why did the engagement of a Jordanian princess create a stir in the Arab world?