Israel says 'not aware' of US decision to reassess ties

JERUSALEM

An Israeli official on Wednesday denied knowledge on any US decision to reassess relations with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Tuesday, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote an article titled "The US Reassessment of Netanyahu's Government Has Began," in which he slammed a plan by the Netanyahu government for judicial overhaul as an "unprecedented radical behavior."

"We are not aware of any decision about 'reassessment' by the US government," the official said in statements cited by Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

"The ties between Israel and the US have grown close over the course of decades, and security cooperation has reached an all-time high under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership,” added the official whose name was not mentioned.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN that Netanyahu's government is "one of the most extreme" governments he has seen in his decades in politics.

In his article, Friedman attributed the "breakdown in shared values" between the US and Israel to Netanyahu's government plan to weaken the judiciary in favor of the executive authority.

On Tuesday, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) passed a bill in its first reading by 64-56 votes to limit the Supreme Court's powers. The bill, however, would require second and third readings in order to be an effective law.

Another bill was also passed that would make it harder to remove the prime minister on corruption charges that still hang over Netanyahu.

Israel has been in political turmoil in recent months over the planned judicial reform, which the opposition views as a power grab in favor of executive authority.

The Israeli opposition accuses Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, of using the judicial overhaul to distance away possible judgments against him.

Netanyahu denies the charges and rejects any link between the judicial changes and his own case.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar