Posted on 04/29/23
| News Source: i24
'It is clear to me that if there was no legal reform, Netanyahu would already have visited the White House'
Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said on Friday that the government's proposed judicial overhaul is the reason that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to be invited to the White House by U.S. President Joe Biden.
“It is clear to me that if there was no legal reform, Netanyahu would already have visited the White House,” Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 12.
Despite the lack of invitation for Netanyahu to visit Washington, Hengbi acknowledged the strong relationship between the Jewish state and the U.S..
“Today we are seeing intimate relations between Israel and the US, in the intelligence field, in the operational field, and in the field of security like never before,” Hanegbi said.
Ties between the Biden and Netanyahu governments appeared to be strained over the past few months as the Israeli leader's coalition attempted to pass its judicial overhaul legislation, amid large protests to the bill across Israel.
Biden urged Netanyahu in March to “walk away” from judicial reform. The American president was quoted saying he was “very concerned” about the future of Israeli democracy, warning Israel “cannot continue down this road.”