The fire of anger had barely subsided in the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against the background of the right-wing government's attempts to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, except that US President Joe Biden poured oil on fire, igniting a new fire in Netanyahu's face, after he announced that he would not invite him to visit Washington soon. “Like many strong supporters of Israel, I am very concerned, they cannot continue down this path,” Biden told reporters, in a statement widely circulated by Israeli networks. I kind of made that clear.”
And about whether he would invite Netanyahu to the White House soon, Biden replied: "No, not in the near future." No American president has ever been so forthright about an Israeli prime minister. Biden's statement came hours after the US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Naides, announced that an invitation would soon be extended to Netanyahu to visit the White House.
But Netanyahu was quick to respond to the US President, today (Wednesday), by saying: Israel is an independent country that takes its decisions by the will of its citizens and not by external pressures, including our best friends.
"I have known President Biden for more than 40 years, and I appreciate his longstanding commitment to Israel," he added in a comment on social media. He considered that the alliance between Israel and the United States is strong and always overcomes the differences that appear between us from time to time.
Netanyahu pointed out that the government he leads is committed to strengthening democracy by restoring the appropriate balance between the three powers, which we strive to achieve with a broad consensus.
In turn, the Israeli Minister of Sports and a member of the “Likud” party, Mickey Zohar, claimed that the US president was directed by fake news, but he retracted his tweet and quickly deleted it and said: “Out of respect for our important relationship with our greatest ally, the United States, I deleted the tweet.”
"It breaks my heart to see how much damage has been done to Israel from all the fake news that has been spread regarding our justifiable legal reform," added Zohar, who is close to Netanyahu.
But the Israeli commentator on the "Walla" website, Barak Ravid, said, "It is the first time that Biden has spoken in front of the camera about the judicial reform that shook Israeli society."
And he considered that Biden's comment on Netanyahu's invitation to visit the White House reveals the extent of the strained relations between the Biden administration and the Israeli government at the present time.
He pointed out that Biden told the New York Times earlier this year that any fundamental changes in the Israeli judicial system must be based on a consensus to obtain legitimacy from the public and be sustainable. He also called Netanyahu earlier this month and expressed his concerns about the plan.
The US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Naides, retracted his statement that the Israeli prime minister might be invited to the White House after Easter, that is, next month, and said that no date had been set for such a visit. A spokesman for the White House National Security Council confirmed, "There is no plan for Netanyahu to visit Washington."
Okaz (Washington) @OKAZ_ONLINE
