2-3 minutes
The Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Israel refused to comment on the matter.
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of their talks in China in March 2017
(photo credit: ETIENNE OLIVEAU/POOL/REUTERS)
Israel considered the possibility of receiving indemnity from the US after the US requested that Israel reduce trade with China, according to Army Radio.
According to Israeli officials, US officials have responded that they don’t intend to provide indemnity, but do expect Israel to stand by their side. Officials added that, despite the implications of such a decision, Israel will probably follow the US’s request.
The Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Israel refused to comment on the matter.
A source in the US Embassy to Israel denied the report.
US Ambassador David Friedman told The Jerusalem Post earlier this month that “the last thing we want is any limitation on how the US can do business or cooperate in Israel.
“For two countries as close to each other as Israel and the US, when they cooperate and exchange intelligence and other secrets for their mutual protection on such a robust level, both countries need to be really careful about exposing that level of cooperation to a foreign power that may have a different agenda,” he said.
Friedman warned that China uses its investments and infrastructure projects to “infiltrate” countries.
Israel-China trade grew by 402% in the past decade, reaching about $14 billion in 2018, making China Israel’s third-largest trading partner.