'Israel', US rift escalating despite Netanyahu's request for calm
4 Min Read
Netanyahu's Likud party members rebuke US President Joe Biden's statements over the judicial overhaul.
-
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Al-Quds, on January 8, 2023 (Reuters)
Members of the Likud party commented on the current rift between the Israeli occupation government and the US administration over the judicial overhaul legislation, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking them not to do so, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
On Tuesday night, Biden urged Netanyahu to "walk away" from the judicial overhaul legislation and warned that "Israel" "cannot continue down this road," pointing out that he would not be inviting Netanyahu to the White House "in the near term."
Amid mass protests against his government's plans, Netanyahu on Wednesday responded to Biden by claiming that "Israel" does not take decisions "based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."
In a letter addressed to the US Congress, Likud MK Dan Illouz said, "I feel that the statement given yesterday crossed a red line in the relationship" between "Israel" and the United States.
"Friends do not act like this towards each other," Illouz told Congress members, adding, "Please use all the tools at your disposal to make sure these types of problematic statements do not happen again."
On his part, Likud MK Nissim Vaturi told Radio 103FM that "there is no way the US will interfere in Israel’s internal matters. This is a democracy, so for him [Biden] to dictate to us what we must do?"
In the same context, Israeli writer Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz that "in very non-diplomatic language, Joe Biden told the Israelis the truth to their face."
"This is the second consecutive humiliation for the prime minister suffered in the international arena since forming his coalition three months ago," after his planned visit to the UAE was canceled by the Gulf country, Harel mentioned in his article "Biden’s Rebuke Reveals the Western World’s Changing View of Israel."
On the other hand, Israeli media lambasted MKs who claimed that "Israel" can survive without aid from the US.
In an article dubbed "Yellow card from Washington: Netanyahu needs to recalculate his course," Israeli writer Yoav Limor sarcastically wrote in "Israel" Hayom, "One can only envy the Knesset members from the Likud who said yesterday that Israel will survive even without aid from the US. They live in a world without knowledge, and in the absence of knowledge there are no worries."
Limor pointed out that without the US, "Israel" is "much weaker and much more vulnerable," adding that "anyone who understands anything about security, politics, economics or strategy should know this."
"Had they known, it is doubtful that they would have slept at night, and certainly they would have shut their mouths and avoided the string of harmful nonsense they spewed in response to the concern expressed by President Biden," the Israeli writer wrote.
On its part, Maariv cited security sources as warning that security cooperation between "Israel" and the US along with some countries would be damaged if the current rift continues.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Walla! news website revealed that Biden conveyed a personal and confidential message to Netanyahu, urging him to stop the judicial overhaul and find a compromise, as per two US sources familiar with the matter.
According to the website, Biden's message came the day after Netanyahu dismissed Israeli occupation Security Minister Yoav Gallant before the premier decided to temporarily freeze the judicial overhaul.
It showed that the US president directly intervened in the public and secret pressure campaign that the White House ran on the matter in order to persuade Netanyahu to freeze the legislation.
Read more: Judiciary worried Netanyahu delayed overhaul to gain time
