Axios: Messages From Biden Convinced Netanyahu To Pause Judicial Reforms

Axios has reported that a series of private messages from US President Joe Biden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have convinced the later to pause his controversial plan to reform the judiciary.

• Axios: "The White House for months has called on Netanyahu to ensure there was a broad consensus around the plan, but the private message reflects the tensions between the two allies... and how engaged he became in trying to convince the Israeli leader to stop the legislation."
• Axios sources claim, "The White House decided to issue a public National Security Council statement expressing concerns over the developments in Israel, as well as deliver a private message directly to Netanyahu from Biden emphasizing that the U.S. president wanted the legislation to be halted."
• Former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, warned that the future of US-Israeli relations remains uncertain: "The possibility remains that the negotiations for a consensus reform could fail and the overhaul that guts the Supreme Court could pass at any time. Under those circumstances, a meeting between Netanyahu and Biden, whose presidency is defined by defending democracy, is very difficult to manage."