Dario Sabaghi
The New Arab, Mar. 11, 2024
“The US has never faced a direct challenge from an Israeli prime minister like at this time. It had conflicts with other Israeli prime ministers […] but they never put the core issues of the Israeli link to Washington at stake like Netanyahu.”
Last week’s visit by Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz to Washington hit a nerve in the relationship between the US administration and Israel’s government, underscoring a personal dimension of the diplomatic tensions between the two countries amid the Gaza war.
Gantz, former chief of General Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and defence minister, and now part of the war cabinet after Hamas’s October attack, travelled to Washington for a meeting with several US officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, before heading to the United Kingdom.
His visit to the United States was reportedly aimed at strengthening ties with Washington, ensuring the continuation of US military aid, and discussing various diplomatic initiatives, including a proposed hostage deal with Hamas.
However, Netanyahu wasn’t happy about his main political rival’s initiative. Israeli media reported that the Israeli PM, apparently unaware of the trip until Gantz contacted him before heading to Washington, told Gantz that “the State of Israel only has one prime minister”.
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