TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he’s been formally invited to visit China, a move commentators warned could have political ramifications given he’s not yet been to the U.S. six months after taking office.
Netanyahu told a visiting delegation of U.S. congressional representatives about the offer, adding that he informed the Biden administration a month ago, the Israeli government said in a statement on Tuesday. While not specifying whether he had accepted the offer, the release said the projected visit would be the prime minister’s fourth to Beijing over a number of stints in power.
Israel and the U.S. have long had close relations, and Netanyahu stressed the security and intelligence cooperation between the two countries “is at an all-time peak,” and the U.S. remains an “irreplaceable ally,” according to the statement.
Word of the China invitation had spread through the Israeli media before the announcement and became a topic of controversy as commentators said the government is using it to pressure Washington.
Tamir Hayman, director of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, a nonpartisan but liberal-leaning think tank, criticized the implication the offer would be accepted.
“China is an important country for Israel but, as always, the context makes the difference and the context is the American refusal to invite the prime minister for a visit in Washington,” said Hayman, who spent 34 years in the Israeli military, many in its intelligence branch. “Because of this refusal and the escalating crisis with the U.S., a visit at this time is a serious mistake.”
Chinese inroads
Netanyahu’s potential visit would come at a time when China is starting to make inroads into the Middle East while the region becomes less of a priority for the U.S. Beijing this year brokered the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and Hayman argued that appearing to side with China will not expedite an invitation to Washington and will irritate Biden officials.
The U.S. and Israeli administrations clashed in March over Netanyahu’s controversial plan to reduce the power of the courts, with U.S. President Joe Biden warning against the policy and saying there would be no invitation to the White House “in the near term.”
Aides to Netanyahu expressed outrage, saying it’s none of the U.S.’s business how Israel picks its judges or balances its branches of government. But Biden, along with allies in London, Paris and Berlin, emphasized his support for those who worry a judicial overhaul will damage Israeli democracy.
Israeli’s currency and stocks have also been hit, as investors expressed concern that too much power in the hands of the executive will harm the nation’s business-friendly environment. Netanyahu returned to office six months ago as the head of the most right-wing and religious coalition in Israel’s history.
The judicial plan was put on pause in late March, but negotiations with the opposition collapsed and the government this week began the legislative process of making at least one change to the judicial system. That prompted 300 reservist doctors in the military to threaten a refusal to serve if the bill moves forward.
