10 | FEBRUARY 2 • 2023
PURELY COMMENTARY
annexation, or even pseudo-annexation
by lining up all the outposts, that [those
things] don’t work for us,
” Nides continued.
Indeed, hours before the interview,
Netanyahu publicly backed Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant, who had ordered
the dismantlement of an illegal outpost
that was set up overnight in the West Bank
— posing an early test for the fledgling
government, in which supporters of such
wildcat construction hold prominent roles.
The U.S. ambassador expressed
confidence that the new government would
also be willing to go along with the measures
Biden promoted with the last coalition to
boost the Palestinian economy, such as
extending 4G cellular service to Palestinians
in the West Bank and Gaza. The president
announced the latter initiative during his
trip to the region in July, but there has
been no progress reported with regard to
its implementation since, and Palestinian
Authority officials have expressed skepticism
over the likelihood that Israel will ever
greenlight the project.
Nonetheless, Nides said he saw “no
indications” of the new government
walking back the commitments made
by the previous one on that issue.
Netanyahu “told us he took down a lot of
the checkpoints. I think he believes in [a]
strong economy for the Palestinians.
”
“We’ll see what that means in practice,
”
the ambassador continued. “I’m sure there
are other people in his government who
feel differently.
”
THE TEMPLE MOUNT
In addition to lowering the flames in Israel’s
West Bank “backyard,
” Nides stressed that
doing the same on Jerusalem’s flashpoint
Temple Mount was also a top priority for
the administration.
So far that front hasn’t been a blazing
success, after far-right National Security
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the
compound at the beginning of the month,
sparking a massive international uproar
and even an emergency meeting of the
U.N. Security Council.
The U.S. embassy in Israel issued a
statement at the time, saying, “
Ambassador
Nides has been very clear in conversations
with the Israeli government on the issue
of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s
holy sites. Actions that prevent that are
unacceptable.
”
Pressed to specify whether he considered
Ben Gvir’s visit a violation of the status
quo — under which Muslims are allowed
to pray at the site they refer to as the
Noble Sanctuary, while non-Muslims
can only visit — Nides balked. “I’m not
here to define whether just going up and
going down is [a violation of the] status
quo or not. My goal here is to keep calm.
That would suggest to people that I’m not
supportive of trying to do things to rile
people up.
“We weren’t supportive of that visit,
given the context,
” Nides said, noting how
Ben Gvir had previously campaigned on
reversing the status quo on the Temple
Mount to allow Jews to pray there. The
national security minister has not called
for following through on that effort since
entering office, though he has denounced
what he describes as the “racist” policies
governing the site.
Nides said that he received assurances
that Netanyahu will preserve the status quo
at the Temple Mount, but the ambassador
acknowledged that those did not include a
commitment that such visits by Ben Gvir
would cease moving forward.
JUDICIAL REFORM
While Biden administration officials might
have planned to limit their conversations
with the Netanyahu government to larger
foreign policy issues, the news cycle in
Israel seems to have other plans.
Sullivan also raised during his meeting
with Netanyahu the new coalition’s highly
controversial plan to significantly curtail
the power of the judicial branch.
A week earlier, Nides indicated that the
U.S. would not weigh in on the matter,
telling the Kan public broadcaster, “The
Israeli people don’t want to be lectured by
America … Our job is not to impose our
will on every decision this government
makes vis-a-vis issues like judicial
reform.”
The ambassador clarified in this
interview that U.S. officials would still
talk with their Israeli counterparts about
“shared values and the importance of
strong democratic institutions.
”
A strong Israeli democracy “gives us the
ability to defend Israel at the U.N.,
” he said,
highlighting a point used by detractors of
the government’s judicial overhaul, who
warn that targeting the High Court of
Justice will hamper Jerusalem’s ability to
defend itself in international tribunals.
“What we’re not doing though —
certainly not at this point — is telling them
how to construct their judicial system,
”
Nides added.
NETANYAHU HAS “BEEN AROUND
THE BLOCK MULTIPLE TIMES AND
UNDERSTANDS THIS BETTER”
THAN ANYONE. “WE DON’T HAVE
TO TEACH THIS GUY THE THINGS
THAT WE CARE ABOUT.”
— U.S. AMBASSADOR TOM NIDES
KOBI GIDEON / GPO / TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
sit down in Jerusalem on Jan. 19.
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