By AAMER MADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday is hosting a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet who is visiting Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, is sitting down with several senior Biden administration officials this week, including Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. President Joe Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday. Gantz is also scheduled to meet on Monday with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Gantz met on Sunday with the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, and State Department counselor Derek Chollet ahead of his White House meetings, according to administration officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.
Over the weekend, Harris issued a forceful call for a temporary cease-fire deal in Gaza, which administration officials say would halt fighting for at least six weeks, and also increased pressure on Israel to not impede the aid that workers were trying to get into the region. The White House has been advocating for that framework deal for weeks.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” Harris said during an appearance in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday. “This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in.”
Harris continued: “This would allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom and self-determination.”
As she painted a dire portrait of malnourished and dying children in Gaza, Harris stressed that the Israeli government “must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid.”
“No excuses,” Harris said. “They must open new border crossings. They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. They must ensure humanitarian personnel, sites, and convoys are not targeted. And they must work to restore basic services and promote order in Gaza so more food, water, and fuel can reach those in need.”
Israel has essentially agreed to the deal, according to a senior Biden administration official, and the White House has emphasized that the onus is on Hamas to come on board.
An official from Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party said Gantz did not have approval from the prime minister for his meetings in Washington and that Netanyahu gave the Cabinet official a “tough talk” — underscoring the widening crack within Israel’s wartime leadership nearly six months into the Israel-Hamas war. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Gantz, who polls show would earn enough support to become prime minister if a vote were held today, is viewed as a political moderate, but he has remained vague about his view of Palestinian statehood. He is a member of the war cabinet and is widely viewed to be a moderating force. It is also assumed that when the heavy fighting subsides, he will leave the government, which would increase pressure for early elections.
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Since Gantz joined Netanyahu’s three-minister war cabinet in October, U.S. officials have found him to be easier to deal with than either Netanyahu or Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Although Gantz holds many of the same hardline views as Netanyahu and Gallant, he has been seen as more open to compromise on critical issues, including the increased delivery of humanitarian assistance that will be a prime topic of discussion of the meetings in Washington this week.
Until now, calls for elections have been muted amid the war, but analysts think that when Gantz leaves the government, it will send a signal to the Israeli public that the need for national unity has passed and efforts to oust Netanyahu’s government can begin in earnest.
For his part while in Washington, Gantz aims to strengthen ties with the U.S., bolster support for Israel’s war and push for the release of Israeli hostages, according to a second Israeli official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t allowed to publicly discuss the disputes within the Israeli government. Gantz is scheduled to head to London for meetings after his U.S. visit.
The U.S. has begun a series of airdrops of aid into Gaza, just days after dozens of Palestinians were killed as they were trying to get food from an Israel-organized convoy. The first drop on Saturday included about 38,000 meals into southwest Gaza, and White House officials have said those airdrops will continue to supplement truck deliveries, while they also work on sending aid via sea.
Harris previously met Gantz at the Munich Security Conference in 2022.
Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Wafaa Shurafa from Rafah, Gaza Strip; and Samy Magdy from Cairo and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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