Joe Biden's administration plans to send National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Israel in mid-January for talks with recently sworn-in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about his government's policies, Axios reports, citing Israeli and U.S. officials.

The White House is concerned about the new Israeli government's policies toward Palestine, including plans to expand settlements and legalize outposts in the occupied West Bank.

U.S. concerns extend to policies that could harm Israeli democracy. These include measures that would reduce the independence of Israel's judiciary and challenge the rights of its Arab minority and LGBTQ+ community.

Netanyahu is back with a tough new coalition that may take steps to annex the West Bank. It is the most right-wing and religious government in the country's history.

Israeli officials said a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken could follow soon after Sullivan's trip. According to Israeli sources, this could also trigger a possible visit by Netanyahu to Washington in February. Sullivan is expected to meet with Netanyahu and Israel's new national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi.

He is also likely to meet with Ron Dermer, Netanyahu's confidant and new minister of strategic affairs, who is expected to become the de facto foreign minister when it comes to the government's relationship with the Biden administration.

Israeli officials say Netanyahu wants to work with the Biden administration on two key issues - stopping Iran's nuclear program and reaching a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Because of the tense relationship between Washington and Riyadh, Netanyahu will have a harder time getting the U.S. support he needs to try to make progress with Saudi Arabia.

Blinken stressed in a statement Thursday night that the Biden administration would oppose any policy that would jeopardize the viability of the two-state solution or go against democratic values.