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Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies have lashed out at Minister Benny Gantz over his upcoming visit to the White House, in a sign of growing tensions within Israel’s war cabinet and its relations with Washington.
Gantz, a former defense minister who joined Netanyahu’s coalition following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, said he informed the prime minister on Friday of his plans to meet with senior U.S. officials so that the two could “coordinate messages”. .
But in a sign of Netanyahu’s displeasure, the Israeli embassy in Washington was ordered to boycott Gantz’s meetings, according to a person familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s allies have accused Gantz of acting as a “Trojan horse” against Israeli interests.
The trip comes as American officials have indicated that US President Joe Biden is increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu as their long-fraught relationship reaches a new low point amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Some in the Biden administration prefer working with Gantz and see him as a good test to gauge where the Israeli public stands on important policy issues, such as the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On Monday, Gantz will meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as well as senior Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Dudi Amsalem, a minister from Netanyahu’s Likud party known to be close to the prime minister, chastised Gantz for violating government protocol, describing him as the person Americans are likely to see as “the guide to leading the process of a Palestinian state and the cessation of fighting in Palestine.” Gaza”.
“You entered the emergency government to build consensus in wartime. . . so as not to stop the [Israel Defense Forces] win the war,” he wrote on the social platform
Harris on Sunday urged the Israeli government to “do more to significantly increase the flow of aid” to Gaza.
He also called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Hamas under the auspices of a deal brokered by several nations, including the United States.
The deal proposes a six-week pause in hostilities and would allow the exchange of vulnerable hostages held by Hamas since October 7, such as women and elderly people, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire is needed for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” Harris said.
Gantz’s National Unity party has grown in popularity in opinion polls in recent months at the expense of Likud, with the former army chief consistently leading Netanyahu on the issue of suitability for prime ministership.
The rivalry between the two, which dates back several years, has resurfaced despite their collaboration in the wartime national unity government.
Gantz has on several occasions rebuked Netanyahu for his open criticism of the country’s security chiefs and for siding with ultranationalist ministers on policy related to the Gaza campaign.
A new fault line emerged last week over the potential end of military conscription exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox.
Gantz’s proposal is anathema to the ultra-Orthodox parties that form a key pillar of Netanyahu’s coalition.
A person familiar with Gantz’s trip said the visit was aimed at strengthening ties with Washington, ensuring the continuation of U.S. military aid and discussing various diplomatic initiatives, including the proposed hostage deal with Hamas.
The person added that another goal of the visit was to “preserve legitimacy for the continuation of the Israeli ground operation in Gaza.”
Over the past week, the US administration has stepped up its criticism of the Israeli offensive, largely due to worsening humanitarian conditions within the devastated enclave.
The United States began airdrops of aid packages to Gaza on Saturday, a move seen by many analysts as a direct reaction to Thursday’s bloodshed around a private aid convoy under Israeli military protection.
Gaza health authorities and eyewitnesses said Israeli troops opened fire on crowds desperate for food, killing more than 100 people.
The Israeli military has denied such claims and said on Sunday that its initial review of the incident indicated that “the majority of Palestinians were killed or injured as a result of [a] stampede” around the convoy.
Yet Daniel Hagari, Israel’s chief military spokesman, admitted that “several people” were hit by Israeli fire as “looters approached our forces and posed an immediate threat to them.”
Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, on Sunday described the Israeli fire during the incident as “unjustifiable”, and called for an “impartial international investigation”.
The provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza during the war was a major point of contention within the Israeli government.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, minister of national security, denounced the policy and tacitly allowed far-right protesters to block crossings into Gaza.
Ben-Gvir on Sunday urged Netanyahu to consider firing Gantz for insubordination.