Sources: Gantz, Ashkenazi in the Know About Israel-Bahrain Deal

After keeping them in the dark ahead of the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu informed both Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi about the agreement with Bahrain, sources close to both men said on Motzoei Shabbos.

There was an uproar over Netanyahu’s decision not to involve Gantz and Ashkenazi regarding his agreement with the UAE. Netanyahu said he did not tell them, because the Americans had asked him not to tell anyone and he was afraid they would leak the details of the agreement.

A source close to Ashkenazi said he was involved with the agreement with Bahrain and had known its details for a while.

“He has known for weeks that the deal was cooking and the prime minister informed him that the agreement had been completed,” a source close to Gantz said.

According to the coalition agreement between Likud and Blue and White, Gantz will serve as acting prime minister while Netanyahu is abroad. This is Netanyahu’s first trip abroad since the government was formed on May 17 and Gantz’s first time serving as acting prime minister.