Argentinian President Javier Milei arrived in Israel on Sunday for his third trip in two years since his election to the position, announcing alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that direct flights would begin between the two countries by the end of the year and that he would move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem.

During the meeting, Milei and Netanyahu also signed the Isaac Accords, a series of strategic deals on security and AI. The name of the accords is a reference to the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, that normalized ties with several Arab countries and aims to promote ties with countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem, the two greeted each other with a hug, then Netanyahu joked about how similar “Javier” and the Hebrew word for friend — “chaver” — sound. The pair both gave a thumbs up for photographers ahead of their meeting, as Netanyahu told his guest, “It warms my heart that you’re here.”

They were joined by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

In his remarks at the Isaac Accords signing ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu said that recent political changes in South America — likely referring to the election of right-wing, Western-friendly governments — mark a return of the “alliance of freedom.”

“It starts with the two of us and with the support that is always there from the US for free societies,” he said, expressing hope that the Abraham Accords model can be applied to Latin America.

“We had Abraham, and now we have Isaac. What will be the Jacob Accords?” the premier joked.

The Milei initiative will bring together “the descendants of Isaac and nations of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in defense of freedom and democracy, and in the fight against terrorism, antisemitism, and drug trafficking,” according to a joint written statement released later in the day.

Members of the accord will coordinate against “Iran’s attempts to expand its terrorist networks........

© The Times of Israel