Amid an unprecedented atmosphere of tension between Washington and Tel Aviv, the Pentagon confirmed to Al Jazeera that the United States has concerns about recent events in Israel, while The Wall Street Journal reported details about US pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told Al Jazeera: "We have some concerns about some of the developments in Israel."
"You have heard that our leaders, including President (Joe) Biden and Secretary of Defense (Lloyd) Austin, are urging Israeli leaders to find a compromise in order to de-escalate and restore calm, and we believe this is the best way forward for Israel."
In the same vein, the White House reiterated its call on Israeli leaders to reach a compromise settlement that enjoys popular support.
"We urge Israeli leaders to reach a settlement as soon as possible, and the president's comments that Netanyahu should move away from judicial amendments are fully consistent with finding a compromise that maintains Israel's checks and balances," said John Kirby, White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator.
Biden's warnings
Biden on Tuesday commented on unprecedented protests in Israel against the Netanyahu government's plan to overhaul the justice system, telling reporters that Israel "cannot continue down this path."
Biden called on Netanyahu to reach a real settlement, abandon the draft judicial amendments, and find a solution to "the difficult situation that the state is experiencing," as he described it.
Asked if he would invite Netanyahu to the White House, Biden said: "No, not in the near term."
Biden's statement came despite US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides saying he was optimistic that Netanyahu might be invited to visit the White House soon after he entered into compromise talks on judicial amendments.
Netanyahu decided on Monday to suspend draft judicial amendments to allow negotiations with opposition parties.
Netanyahu seeks compromise
Israel's prime minister, in a video address on Wednesday to the U.S.-organized "Democracy Summit," said he would reach a compromise with the opposition over the judicial amendments.
He added that the negotiators "will try to achieve a broader national consensus... We are now already engaged in this dialogue."
Netanyahu said he expected Israel to join the US visa waiver program in September after passing legislation demanded by Washington.
But the State Department said Israel "still has to do significant work in a short period of time to meet all the requirements of the program" by September.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal quoted a US official as saying that Washington's pressure played an important role in pushing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to back down and delay legislation on judicial amendments.
The newspaper reported that the pressure campaign began in earnest since US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel in February.
However, the newspaper quoted an Israeli official as saying that U.S. pressure had nothing to do with Netanyahu's decision to delay the judicial amendments.
The Israeli official added that it was not appropriate for Washington to interfere in internal Israeli politics.