President Joe Biden all but contradicted US Ambassador to Israel on Tuesday, saying he has no plans to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.
When he was asked by reporters before departing on Air Force One if he'll invite Israeli leader to Washington, Biden answered, "No, not in the near term." He added, "Hopefully, the Prime Minister can act in a way that will bring general compromise."
Video: Reuters
Biden went on to say that "like many strong supporters of Israel I'm very concerned. I'm concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road," referring to the ongoing political and social upheavals in Israel over the planned judicial overhaul. Biden was asked again upon returning to the White House on what he expects Netanyahu to do, and responding: "I hope he walks away from it… I think they're in a difficult spot to be in and they've got to work it out"
Netanyahu soon shot back, saying Israel is a sovereign country that does not make decisions based on pressures from abroad. "Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."
He said his administration was striving to make reforms "via broad consensus", and added that he "appreciated Biden's commitment to Israel."
Likud MK Dan Illouz too responded to the US president's statement. In a letter to Congress, he said Biden had "crossed a red line" and stressed that democratic nations should be allowed to "define their own future."
Earlier on Tuesday, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said he expected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to soon receive a long-awaited invitation to the White House.
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He told Israel's Army Radio that it could happen after the Jewish holiday in early April. "I believe he will be invited after Passover," Nides said.
The announcement comes after Netanyahu announced the postponement of the judicial reform plan that Biden and his administration have previously expressed concerns about. According to an analysis done by Reuters, the White House has never waited so long after an election to invite an Israeli prime minister for a visit.
However, in previous weeks US officials responded to journalists' requests about the timeline of the possible meeting between Biden and Netanyahu with the comment: "There is nothing on the agenda." Some experts on US-Israel relations saw this as a sign of Washington's discontent with the judicial overhaul plans, settlement policies and controversial remarks being made by members of Netanyahu's coalition government regarding the Palestinian issue.
Last week, Biden held a phone call with the Israeli prime minister where he reportedly urged him to seek broad consensus on the judicial reform bill. On Monday evening, the Biden administration welcomed Netanyahu's announcement that he would put the reform on hold until the summer in order to hold negotiations with the opposition.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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