'No invitation' has been extended from Biden to Netanyahu despite judicial overhaul u-turn
'No invitation' has been extended from Biden to Netanyahu despite judicial overhaul u-turn
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been gifted an invitation to visit US President Joe Biden in Washington in the coming days, despite reports.
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Netanyahu faces mass protests in Israeli over his controversial judicial reform law [source: Getty]
US President Joe Biden has not extended an invitation for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, despite calls the premier would be brought to the White House after his u-turn on a planned judicial overhaul.
Reports originally stated that Biden had plans to host Netanyahu in Washington in the coming months, The New York Times said on Tuesday, citing US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides.
Other reports had seen Nides also claim the PM would visit, after the critical pause on the judicial overhaul bill.
"I'm sure he'll be coming relatively soon," he told Israel's Army Radio. "I assume after Passover, obviously no date has been set yet. There's no question he will come and meet [US President Joe] Biden. They will see each other personally, I'm sure, quite soon. Without question, he’ll be coming to the White House as soon as their schedules can be coordinated."
Nides, in a separate interview with The Times of Israel, then said no date has been set, adding: "They will see each other personally, I’m sure, quite soon.
"Without question, he'll be coming to the White House as soon as their schedules can be coordinated."
The report stated that Biden wanted to ensure that there is no violence in the Palestinian territories before he visits Washington.
The reports come after Netanyahu on Monday delayed a decision on bitterly contested plans for a judicial overhaul after they triggered some of the biggest protests protest in Israeli history.
The US had welcomed the move, which Israel's western allies viewed as a threat to checks and balances in the country.
Netanyahu has been reportedly angered by Biden's delay in inviting him to the US, an almost unprecedented move in relations between the two countries.
The US has voiced concerns about the actions and words of members of Netanyahu's government, including far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
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