Netanyahu will be invited to the White House, says US envoy to Israel after overhaul pause

While protests continue in Israel despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delaying the judicial overhaul, US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said that the Israeli premier will be invited to the White House. The announcement came on Tuesday morning, hours after Netanyahu announced the decision to delay the overhaul, The Times of Israel reported. Earlier it was reported that Netanyahu is expected to attend the 'Summit for Democracy' which is being organised in the US this week. 

“I’m sure he’ll be coming relatively soon,” Nides told Israel’s Army Radio on Tuesday. “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 added. According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli Prime Minister has been unhappy over the lack of invitation from the US for the last three months after he assumed the office of the Prime Minister all over again. Meanwhile, Washington has repeatedly cautioned against the plan to constrain the Israeli judiciary and urged the Netanyahu administration to bring in a more broadly agreed-upon reform.  

Prospects for invitation came after US lauds the overhaul pause

Netanyahu’s Monday announcement was welcomed by the Biden administration as well. “We welcome this announcement as an opportunity to create additional time and space for compromise,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing, hours after Netanyahu gave the televised statement. “Democratic societies are strengthened by checks and balances, and fundamental changes to a democratic system should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support,” she added. Time and again, the United States warned the Netanyahu administration to not make radical decisions that can cause instability in the country. 

According to The Times of Israel, last week, Biden phoned Netanyahu and reiterated the American stance over the issue and urged the Israeli premier to not make rash decisions. Washington’s interest in this matter peaked after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who urged his boss to not go ahead with the overhaul. Gallant stated that the ongoing protests over the issue would lead to a breakdown of the Israeli Defence Forces' operational capacity, making the country more vulnerable to enemies. The ongoing protests were the major reason why the Biden administration was uncomfortable to invite the Israel premier. 

As per the report by The New York Times, a senior US official believed that the raging protests in the country made the US "more uncomfortable" to send Netanyahu an invite to the US. Before Netanyahu made the announcement, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the radical judicial reform which the Israeli Prime Minister is trying to push “flies in the face of the whole idea of checks and balances.”