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Biden rebukes Netanyahu, says no invite to the White House in 'near term'

In an open crisis with the Israeli government over the judicial overhaul, President Joe Biden nixes inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu anytime soon to the White House.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) sits with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a dinner at the Prime Minister's residence March 9, 2010 in Jerusalem, Israel. Biden, visiting Israel as part of U.S.-led efforts to restart Middle East peace talks, on Tuesday condemned Israel's plans for 1,600 new homes in an area of the occupied West Bank it has annexed to Jerusalem. (Photo by Baz Ratner-Pool/Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden will not be hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu anytime soon in the White House, and is instead urging him to walk away from the judicial overhaul legislation his government has been advancing but was forced to delay this week. 

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Biden made it clear that Netanyahu is still not on his schedule for a White House visit. “Not in the near term," the US president said. Unlike his predecessors who would have visited Washington in the early months of their premiership, Netanyahu still has not made such a trip since taking office in December. The early months of his tenure have been rocked by protests over the judicial overhaul plan that his government is pushing, but is being met with nationwide protests.

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