Israel denies NYT account of Biden-Netanyahu conversation

National Security Adviser Tzahi Henegbi Wednesday denied Tom Friedman’s account of US President Joe Biden’s message to PM Binyamin Netanyahu. In his account, The New York Times columnist quoted Biden has telling Netanyahu he must stop legal reform legislation now. However, according to Hanegbi, he asked the prime minister to try and get it through quickly. Netanyahu responded by promising that – after getting through the first bill removing “reasonability” from High Court powers to strike down elected government decisions – he would seek “broad public agreement” on the rest of the overhaul plan.
DEBKAfile adds: Friedman’s previous report that the Biden administration was preparing a reassessment of its relations with Israel was also contradicted by a White House national security council spokesman.