Benny Gantz, the Israel War cabinet minister, is scheduled to journey to Washington for discussions with senior officials on Sunday, a move that reportedly stirred frustration from Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, who allegedly did not authorize the trip and admonished him, emphasizing that the country has one premier.
Gantz’s office disclosed that among the officials he plans to meet are US Vice President Kamala Harris, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and members from both the Republican and Democratic parties in the US Congress.
Reports detailing the upcoming trip and an evidently strained telephone exchange between Netanyahu and Gantz regarding the visit surfaced earlier through the Ynet outlet.
Allegedly, Netanyahu was uninformed about the visit until Gantz, who leads the National Unity party, reached out to inform the prime minister of his intentions and to discuss the messages to be conveyed to the Americans.
According to sources close to Netanyahu, the prime minister emphasized to Minister Gantz that Israel operates under a single prime minister, Ynet reported.
The source highlighted that the trip was arranged without the prime minister’s consent and contravened government protocols mandating ministerial travels to be pre-approved by the prime minister, including the endorsement of travel plans.
Nevertheless, Gantz’s office confirmed today that the trip is proceeding as scheduled and provided specifics regarding the forthcoming meetings.
Gantz’s office asserted that the minister personally briefed the prime minister on his intention to travel on Friday as a proactive measure to align the messages to be conveyed during the meetings.
A former military chief and defense minister, Gantz emerges as Netanyahu’s primary political adversary in opinion polls. Following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which triggered the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, Gantz integrated his National Unity party into the government.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Not good! This is war-time and the functioning government must function for the good of the country’s war effort. Oy!
Nerds meeting nerds. What’s the surprise, what’s the big deal? A little humility is always a great deal. And this shortcoming is always in the Gibborim, the “military men”: Bas-Shev’s husband, Shaul, Avshalom etc. So often suicidal.