US ambassador denies claims of boycott of Israel's new extreme-right minister Ben-Gvir

The US ambassador to Israel has refuted claims that Washington imposed a boycott on Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, but said the Biden administration will deal primarily with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Tom Nides told Israeli broadcaster Kan that he doesn't do boycotts when pressed on whether the US will engage with the extreme-right minister Ben-Gvir, who caused international controversy when he stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound last week. 

The 62-year-old American stressed in the interview that Netanyahu was in control of his new far-right coalition, and made clear that the US will work directly with the prime minister himself, given their "shared values". 

"We'll work with everyone. But in principle, [who] I'll be working with is the prime minister," he said. 

"The prime minister told us he has his hands very firmly on the wheel. That's who we’re dealing with." 

Netanyahu, who recently returned to power with the support of Israel's most right-wing coalition in history, has made assurances to the US that he will maintain "the status quo" when it comes to Jerusalem's holy cities, according to Nides. 

This follows widespread outrage over Ben-Gvir's highly provocative stunt at the Al-Aqsa mosque, which prompted the US to say they had been "very clear in conversations" with Israel about preserving the status quo. 

Currently, non-Muslims at Al-Aqsa mosque - one of Islam's holiest sites - are permitted to visit at select times but not pray. 

Nides also said Netanyahu "understands the position of the US [of] keeping a vision of a two-state solution alive" when asked about the annexation of the occupied West Bank. 

"He understands that we understand that massive settlement growth will not accomplish [the two-state solution]," he said. 

However, the prime minister has already agreed to the illegal annexation of occupied West Bank land as part of deal-making involved in securing his far-right coalition, reported The Times of Israel.

The West Bank is home to nearly three million Palestinians who are systematically subjected to forced expulsions and disproportionate violence by occupying Israeli forces.

Many Palestinians and their allies want the West Bank as the heartland for their future independent state. Yet, during Netanyahu's previous term in office, he pushed to annex some 30 percent of the occupied territory.