Netanyahu hits Biden’s criticism and says Israel’s decisions are not based on external pressure

Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated a rare public spat with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, rejecting “pressure” from the White House after Biden criticized his controversial efforts to weaken the Israeli judiciary.

Biden has said he will not invite Netanyahu to the White House “in the short term”, as well as issuing a scathing rebuke of Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reform after mass protests and strikes have paralyzed Israel.

“Like many strong supporters of Israel, I am very concerned. I’m worried that they get this right. They cannot continue down this path. I made that clear,” Biden told reporters in North Carolina.

“We expect the prime minister to act in a way that will achieve a genuine compromise,” he said. “That remains to be seen.”

Netanyahu responded with a statement on Tuesday night, in which he highlighted Biden’s “longstanding commitment to Israel,” but added: “Israel is a sovereign country that makes its decisions by the will of its people and not on the basis of pressures from outside, including from the best of friends.”

The exchange puts an unusual strain on the relationship between the leaders of the two allied countries.

Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader and former prime minister, said on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s efforts had “ruined” the relationship.

“For decades, Israel was America’s closest ally. The most extreme government in the country’s history ruined this in three months,” tweeted Lapid.

An eruption of anger has ensued within Israel and within some Jewish communities in the US and around the world over attempts by the Netanyahu government to weaken the power of the country’s courts.

The prime minister finally lifted the legislation on Monday after a general strike and mass protests threw Israel into chaos, but he said he plans to return to the effort in the next parliamentary term.

Critics say Netanyahu is forcing the changes due to his own ongoing corruption trial, which he denies.

So far, Biden has avoided direct criticism of Netanyahu’s efforts, with his administration saying on Sunday it was watching the escalating tension with “concern”.

But his comments on Tuesday marked a rare instance where the US has a direct bearing on Israel’s internal affairs.

It was also announced Tuesday that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will visit Jerusalem next month, on a trip that is sure to inject the likely Republican presidential nominee into Israel’s national turmoil and its increasingly strained relationship with the US.

“At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people,” DeSantis told the Jerusalem Post, which announced details of his planned speech at an April 27 event.

Debate over Netanyahu’s proposals will likely flare up again before then; while buying time on Monday, he remained determined to continue supporting a reform of the judiciary that critics say undermines Israel’s democracy.

“We are in the middle of an important debate, we will get through it,” Netanyahu said in a statement to staff on Tuesday, after announcing that the legislation would be suspended until after Easter.

“You go to Passover, on the eve of the Seder you will sit with families. You can fight a little, not a lot, you will come to terms. Our goal is to reach agreements, both between you and between us,” she said.