On Wednesday, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said that there is “no talk” of reassessing Israeli-US ties.
The spokesman reassured that even if a reevaluation were to take place, it wouldn’t be an unprecedented event, referencing several historical instances during various US administrations.
“It’s worth noting that the Ford Administration announced a reevaluation with the Rabin government, Reagan did the same with the Begin government, George H.W. Bush did with the Shamir government, and George W. Bush with the Barak and Sharon governments,” explained the source.
The US official also acknowledged existing disagreements, particularly regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state, the re-entry into the Iran Nuclear Deal, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resistance to the US “no surprises” policy pertaining to Israeli action against Iran.
This clarification follows speculations raised by Israeli journalist Thomas Friedman who suggested in a US newspaper that America was “reevaluating” its ties with Israel.
Friedman in his article conjectured that during their upcoming encounter, President Joe Biden would likely tell Israeli President Herzog that “when the interests and values of the American and Israeli governments diverge to this degree, a reassessment of the relationship becomes unavoidable.”
Interestingly, the White House has yet to extend an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a Washington visit and meeting with the US President. This deviation from standard protocol is perceived by observers as a sign of US disapproval of Israel’s controversial judicial reform plan, described by critics as a “judicial coup”, along with the expansion of Israeli settlements.
Traditionally, a newly sworn-in Israeli Prime Minister is invited to Washington, but such an invitation has not been extended to Netanyahu, despite his government being in power since December 2022.
Netanyahu’s government, widely seen as an extreme right-wing religious and nationalist administration, is considered by many domestic and international observers as one of the most radical in Israel’s history.
