Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Psaki still won’t give a date for when Biden will call Netanyahu after president accused of ignoring Israel

Prime minister was a strong ally of Donald Trump and Jared Kushner

Graeme Massie
Los Angeles
Thursday 11 February 2021 19:35 GMT
Comments
Trump meets Netanyahu and talks of "unbreakable" US-Israel bond
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Joe Biden’s top spokesperson refused to give a date when the president would call Benjamin Netanyahu after he was accused of ignoring Israel.

Mr Biden has still not spoken to the Israeli prime minister despite making a string of calls to world leaders and allies following his inauguration last month.

Mr Netanyahu’s frustrated former ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, even took to Twitter to demand a call and posted the prime minister’s phone number.

““Might it now be time to call the leader of Israel, the closest ally of the US?” he tweeted.

The phone number appeared to be out of service when tried by The Independent.

Ms Psaki was asked about when the president would call his Israeli counterpart during her press briefing on Thursday.

But she refused to commit to a date and would only say that a call would happen “soon.”

“The president looks forward speaking with prime minister Netanyahu,” she said.

“He is obviously somebody that he he has a longstanding relationship with and obviously there is an important relationship that the United States has with Israel on the security front and as a key partner in the region, but he will be talking with him soon.

"I don’t have a specific date or time for you on that call yet.”

Mr Netanyahu was a close ally of Donald Trump and is an old family friend of Jared Kushner and his father, Charles Kushner.

The prime minister also had a strained relationship with former president Barack Obama while Mr Biden was his vice president.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in