White House: U.S. has no current plans for Netanyahu visit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not have any current plans to visit the United States following days of mass protests in Israel over plans for a judicial overhaul.
On Tuesday morning, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said in a radio interview that the White House would soon invite Netanyahu to visit, according to the Associated Press. Nides said Netanyahu would most likely visit after the weeklong Passover holiday beginning next week.
Though later on Tuesday, Principal Deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters that the United States has no immediate plans for Netanyahu to visit.
"There's no plans for Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit Washington. Israeli leaders have a long history, tradition of visiting Washington, and Prime Minister Netanyahu will likely take a visit at some point, but there's nothing currently planned,” Dalton said.
After two days of protest, Netanyahu announced a delay in his judicial overhaul plan Monday, stating that he wanted to find a compromise with his political opponents. Over the weekend, Netanyahu also fired his defense minister for opposing the overhaul.
The White House on Monday said they welcomed Netanyahu’s announcement as an “opportunity to create additional time and space for compromise.”
“Compromise is precisely what we have been calling for. And we continue to strongly urge Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday.