The leader of the fascist Religious Zionism party and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will visit the United States next week at the invitation of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for the first time since his appointment to the position and after the Biden administration boycotted him in previous years.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar will also visit Washington next week, meeting with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio.

Upon beginning his term, Besant spoke by phone with Smotrich, during which the latter spoke of the “deep and strategic friendship between Israel and the United States, and the mutual commitment of the two countries to advance shared values in order to strengthen the economy.”

Smotrich added that he "expects to work in close cooperation with the US Treasury Secretary with the aim of deepening and expanding economic cooperation between the two sides to their benefit," and invited Bessent to visit Israel.

Sa'ar will visit Washington, where he will meet with Rubio, on Wednesday of next week, as well as meet with other American officials, and will also visit New York.

Smotrich visited the United States in March 2023, while the Biden administration announced at the time that its representatives would not meet with him, due to his fascist statements, including that “Huwara should be wiped out,” where settlers carried out terrorist attacks.