Shift in Israel Provides Biden a Chance for Better Ties

The departure of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister is a relief for Democrats, but Iran and the Palestinians could test Mr. Biden’s relations with a fragile new Israeli government.

WASHINGTON — President Biden waited more than three weeks after his inauguration to place his first call to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister at the time. It took Mr. Biden less than three hours after the swearing in on Sunday of Mr. Netanyahu’s successor, Naftali Bennett, to phone with what the White House called his “warm congratulations.” Mr. Bennett responded in kind, and on Monday, Yair Lapid, his centrist partner in the awkward coalition assembled to oust Mr. Netanyahu, went even further, blaming Mr. Netanyahu for poisoning Israel’s relationship with Mr. Biden and the Democratic Party. The change in government in Israel will hardly wipe away deep differences with the Biden administration: The right-wing Mr. Bennett is ideologically closer to Mr. Netanyahu than to Mr. Biden. And it did not make the longstanding issues in the Middle East any less intractable.