The US State Department denied on Wednesday that there was official talk of reassessing its relations with Israel, and an Israeli official confirmed that Tel Aviv was not aware of the US administration's decision to reassess its relations with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

This followed a New York Times article in which writer Thomas Friedman said Washington had begun assessing its relations with Israel.

The ministry stressed on Wednesday that Washington's commitment to Israel's security remained solid, but called for avoiding unilateral measures, including expelling Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem.

In the same context, Sputnik quoted a White House official, on Wednesday evening, saying that there is no talk within the administration of President Joe Biden about a possible reassessment of US relations with Israel.

The source stressed that even if such an assessment were made, it would not be unprecedented, explaining, "The Ford administration announced a reassessment with the Rabin government, the Reagan administration did it with the Begin government, the Bush administration did it with the Shamir government, and the Bush Jr. did it with the governments of Barak and Sharon."


Israeli official suspends

Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official commented that Tel Aviv was not aware of the US administration's decision to reassess its relations with the government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We know nothing about such a decision," the Israel Broadcasting Corporation quoted the official as saying, adding that "despite periodic reassessments over the years, relations between Israel and the United States have reached an all-time high in terms of cooperation."

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden, in an interview with CNN, described the current Israeli government as the "most extreme" in Israel.


More respect

In his article, Friedman sharply criticized the Israeli government, saying that "according to the 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Israel has received the largest U.S. foreign aid from any country in the world since World War II, worth $146 billion, not adjusted for inflation."

He considered that this effort deserved more respect for the president of the United States than Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

On Monday, Ben Gvir said in a tweet, "President Biden needs to realize that we are not another star on the American flag," referring to the stars that symbolize the number of the United States.

Friedman said Israeli President Isaac Herzog would visit Washington next week and meet with the US president, Biden's way of indicating that his problem is not with the Israelis but with Netanyahu's extremist government.