United States officials tried to soft-pedal the Biden administration crisis with Israel as a “dispute with friends" even as it insisted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government must stop fast-tracking its judicial reform through the Knesset.
“Our commitment to Israel is ironclad and steadfast, and that will continue to be the case,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington, adding that “sometimes the best of friends can disagree.”
“Israel is a key and important partner as it relates to not just the region but our efforts across the world,” he emphasized.
He spoke positively even as US officials upheld Biden’s calls for Netanyahu to employ a consensus process that includes both opposition and coalition politicians in any judicial reform process.
'Sovereign states make sovereign decisions'
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday, “We’d like to see decisions made … that are in keeping with a consensus of — and that can be done with the broadest possible base of public support, because that’s .. one of the key components of a democracy,” Kirby told reporters at the White House briefing.
He underscored that Israel “is a democracy and a sovereign state, of course, and — and sovereign states make sovereign decisions.”
Kirby also said that the Biden administration appreciated Netanyahu’s statements on Wednesday in support of a consensus process and a democracy that included an independent judiciary.
“IF you look at his statement that he put out, I mean, there’s …there’s a lot to like about it,” Kirby said.
Netanyahu “talked about searching for a compromise. He talked about working towards building consensus here with respect to these — these potential judicial reforms. He talked about how unshakable he knows the relationship is between the United States and Israel. And he talked about his great respect for President Biden.
“That’s a respect that President Biden shares as well. These two gentlemen have known each other for 40-some-odd years,” Kirby said.
“The great thing about friends — and I’m sure you all have friends; you don’t always agree with everything your friend does or says — and the great thing about a deep friendship is you can be that candid with one another,” he added.