USA news: Tensions between the United States and Israel flared after President Joe Biden criticized Israeli leaders’ plan to overhaul the nation’s judicial system and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t be getting an invitation to the White House anytime soon.

Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Biden said Tuesday he’s concerned about the state of democracy in Israel after the proposed judicial overhaul ignited street protests and public strikes. Netanyahu put the plan on hold on Monday.

“Like many supporters of Israel, I’m very concerned,” Biden said. “And I’m concerned that they get this right. They cannot continue down this road.”

Asked if he planned to invite Netanyahu to the White House, Biden said, “not in the near term.”

Netanyahu fired back, writing in a statement posted in English on Twitter that Israel “is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”

“I have known President Biden for over 40 years, and I appreciate his longstanding commitment to Israel,” Netanyahu wrote. “The alliance between Israel and the United States is unbreakable and always overcomes the occasional disagreements between us.”