JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau to Washington for an official visit, a statement from the prime minister's office said on Monday.

The move marks a shift in US - Israeli relations as most Israeli prime ministers had already received an invitation to the White House this far in to their terms.

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The two leaders shared a "long and warm" conversation, the Israeli statement said, focused on curbing threats from Iran and its proxies and strengthening the alliance between the two countries.

Netanyahu told the US President he would try to form "broad public consensus" on controversial legislation in Israel that would see its highest court stripped of much of its powers.