Netanyahu urged to ‘uphold democratic values’ by Biden in crunch meeting

Speaking on the side lines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the US president added: "We're going to talk about some tough issues.”

Biden also stressed to Netanyahu about developing a path to a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians and "ensuring that Iran never, never acquires a nuclear weapon."

The US president also told Netanyahu that "without Israel, there's not a Jew in the world who is secure.”

But the biggest issue on the meeting agenda was the US-led push to forge diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu told Biden: "Under your leadership as president, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”

He added that such a peace would go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also said he would uphold democratic values, despite his proposed changes to Israel's court system.

The Israeli PM finally got his long-coveted meeting with the US president on Wednesday after a lengthy delay.

Netanyahu has been a frequent White House visitor over the years, and Israeli leaders are typically invited within weeks of starting their tenure. 

But the choice to host the meeting on the side lines of the UN General Assembly rather than in Washington have been widely interpreted as signs of US displeasure with Netanyahu's new government.