US Ambassador to Israel Held Talks With Netanyahu: Report
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is surrounded by journalists and lawyers in a courtroom before testimony by star witness Nir Hefetz, a former aide, in Netanyahu’s corruption trial at the District Court in east Jerusalem, November 22, 2021. Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – United States Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides reportedly held informal meetings with the head of Israel’s opposition Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Walla! News report on Tuesday.
Nides also reportedly met with Shas MK Aryeh Deri, who resigned from Israel’s parliament in December in a plea deal due to corruption charges.
This is the second meeting between the former prime minister and Nides, held at the Dan Caesarea Resort in central Israel. However, unlike the first meeting in December 2021, this meeting was not followed by a press statement, and no photos were taken.
Since becoming opposition leader, Netanyahu has had almost no meetings with representatives of US President Joe Biden’s government, other than Nides. Likewise, when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited in February, she did not meet with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s office and the US Embassy in Israel declined to comment to Walla regarding the report.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has been critical of Washington’s intention to re-sign the nuclear deal with Iran, speaking with Fox News last month to denounce the deal.
The alleged talks come amid a coalition crisis following the resignation of MK Idit Silman, who called for the formation of an alternate government led by the Likud head.
Israel’s political crisis intensified Sunday when the Islamist Ra’am party froze its participation in the coalition, protesting ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians on the Temple Mount.