Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, downplayed the importance of a leak of sensitive American papers concerning the Jewish state on Sunday and said that Washington is still his nation’s “greatest partner.” “despite conflict over his disputed reform efforts.
One of the trove of Pentagon documents that recently surfaced online said that Mossad commanders pushed employees to participate in protests against the divisive judicial changes advocated by Netanyahu.
The information was credited in the paper to intercepted electronic signals, proving that the US was snooping on a nation with whom it had strong connections.
Netanyahu referred to the news around the US classified documents as a “misunderstanding” in an interview on the NBC talk program “Meet The Press.”
Asserting that Israel’s military and security services were “working hand in hand with me, as prime minister, to assure the security of the country,” Netanyahu stated: “The truth is that the Mossad legal adviser said that under Israeli law junior members of Mossad can participate in the demonstrations, not senior members.”
In contrast to previous remarks made by his administration, which described the reporting as “mendacious and without any substance whatsoever,” the prime minister’s tone was more reassuring.”
Since the end of March, Netanyahu’s reform drive has been on pause, but not without months of upheaval and condemnation from Western partners, including severe words from US President Joe Biden.
The idea that the changes were straining ties with the United States was rejected by the Israeli prime minister.
He said, “Friends might argue from time to time, but America is by far and away Israel’s finest ally.”
Netanyahu’s comments come hours after tens of thousands of Israelis protested the government’s judicial changes, which many see as an assault on democracy, in Tel Aviv.
