WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th May, 2023) US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides has informed the Biden administration that he will be resigning for personal reasons this summer, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing US officials.
Nides, a former Morgan Stanley executive, informed Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan of his plans to step down during a working visit to Washington last week, the report said.
Nides is expected to be replaced as acting charge d'affaires by his current deputy chief of mission Stephanie Hallett, a veteran Department of State diplomat with extensive experience in other middle East countries, Axios said.
The ambassador in recent months delivered tough messages from Washington to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about his government's plans to strip oversight powers from the country's Supreme Court, a move that has provoked continuing protests by hundreds of thousands of Israelis, the report noted.
Nides was close to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and served as her deputy secretary of state for management and resources during the first Obama administration.
