Eleven weeks into his third term as Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet been received at the White House, signaling United States dissatisfaction with his right-wing government policies towards Palestine.
Most of the Israeli leaders who have just visited the United States or met with the country's president at the time they served as prime ministers, according to a Reuters review of official visits since the late 1970s. Only two of the previous 13 prime ministers led the new government waiting longer.
The White House declined to confirm that Netanyahu had not been invited. A State Department spokesman referred Reuters to the Israeli government for information on the prime minister's travel plans. The Israeli embassy in Washington declined to comment on this matter.
"The message they want to convey is: If you carry out unpleasant policies, you don't have the right to sit in the Oval Room," said David Makovsky, a former senior adviser to the Israel-Palestinian Negotiation Special Envoy who now works at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. March 16.
Amid rising violence in the West Bank, the actions of the far-right government that authorized settlers' posts and inciting comments from a cabinet member PM Netanyahu in charge of Jewish settlements, have drawn criticism from US officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a visit to Israel last week.
However, the US-Israeli relationship remains close. The United States has long been Israel's main donor, sending more than $3 billion annually in military aid.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has known PM Netanyahu for decades, both of whom have spoken by telephone and senior officials in both countries have made visits since PM Netanyahu's Administration was formed in December, despite a political crisis that is hitting Israel.
However, the current conditions underscore President Biden's desire to see different policies in Israel and what critics say is a reluctance to take firmer steps.
US statements about events in Israel often contain "frustrated language," said Sarah Yerkes, a senior researcher at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who previously worked in the US State Department for policies against Israel and Palestine.
"It's disappointing to see the lack of response from the US," Yerkes said.
"They cannot be treated with gloves, the same children they always receive because they are on the road not to become a democratic country anymore," he said.
President Biden's administration prefers calm conversations over public criticism, a senior US State Department official said, especially in terms of the proposed Israeli judicial reshuffle crisis.
"Whatever we will say about specific proposals has the potential to be highly counterproductive," the official said, adding that his goal was to encourage Israeli leaders to build consensus on reforms instead of being pre-criptive about what should happen.
Separately, Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the Democratic Party, said he hoped the government would survive with a clear message to Israel.
"I certainly want to see the government send a strong signal that we must maintain our support for the Palestinian state in the future and the decisions taken by PM Netanyahu's current government are very dangerous for the future," Murphy said.
A separate group of 92 progressive lawmakers warned in a letter to President Biden that a reshuffle could empower those supporting the annexation of the West Bank, "damaging prospects for a two-state solution and threatening the existence of Israel as a Jewish state and a democratic state."
US leaders have rarely criticized Israel's policies, since Foreign Minister James Baker in 1989 advised the country not to take steps to annex Palestinian territory and expand settlements.
Baker then banned Netanyahu, who at the time served as deputy foreign minister, from the State Department after he criticized US policy against Israel.
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