‘Will harm Israeli interest’: Netanyahu slammed for planning China visit as signal to Biden

Former head of Israel Defence Intelligence Amos Yadlin slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans regarding upcoming visit to China and said “this is a move that will harm the Israeli interest and not promote it”. On Tuesday, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli PM was invited to China and further emphasised that the United States remained Israel’s key ally. US President Joe Biden’s administration was notified of the expected visit a month ago, the statement from Netanyahu’s office said. According to The Times of Israel, “Netanyahu has been seeking an invite to the White House but has been kept at arm’s length by US President Joe Biden, amid disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul push, policies in the West Bank and a potential interim nuclear deal between Iran and the US.” In a series of posts on Twitter, Amos Yadlin noted that the move appeared to be aimed at imitating Saudi Arabia. “The briefing on the Prime Minister’s intention to visit China next month, as a signal to the Biden administration that Israel has strategic alternatives to a powerful support, is an Israeli attempt to imitate the Saudi ‘diversification of supports’ policy. This is a move that will harm the Israeli interest and not promote it,” Yadlin wrote.

התדרוך על כוונת רה״מ לבקר בחודש הבא בסין, כאיתות לממשל ביידן על כך שיש לישראל חלופות אסטרטגיות למשענת מעצמתית, הינו ניסיון ישראלי לחקות את מדיניות “גיוון המשענות” הסעודית. מדובר במהלך שיפגע באינטרס הישראלי ולא יקדם אותו.
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— Amos Yadlin (@YadlinAmos) June 27, 2023

He said that they are “making a bitter mistake and we do not understand the importance of the competition between the powers in the geopolitics of the 21st century.” Unlike Israel, Saudi Arabia does not receive billions annually in US military assistance; doesn’t depend on an American veto at the UN Security Council; is not reliant on US financial guarantees; and does not have the most advanced American weapons systems, the former official noted. “Israel needs the Biden administration to advance its strategic goals: preventing Iran from (obtaining) nuclear weapons and adding Saudi Arabia to the circle of normalization,” he added, while referring to a potential peace deal between Jerusalem and Riyadh. He further highlighted that the Xi Jinping-led country regularly votes against Israel at the UN, is a longtime supporter of the Palestinians and has a strategic alliance with Iran. He believes China cannot match the US in terms of “security, strategic and operational cooperation”. “The Israeli signal is a bluff that isn’t expected to improve Israel’s position vis-à-vis Washington,” said Yadlin, and added, “The prime minister has much stronger cards (to play) in order to put ties with the US back on track.” (With inputs from agencies) Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.