Gantz Meets Senior Biden Officials in Washington

MK Benny Gantz, the head of the National Unity party, is currently in Washington and met with senior officials from the Biden administration, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Gantz’s office stated that they discussed various topics, including advancing Israel’s critical security interests, enhancing its regional integration, and addressing the Iranian threat along with Iran’s proxies in the Middle East.

Gantz’s visit to Washington coincides with ongoing talks regarding normalization with Saudi Arabia. There is concern within the White House that government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich may resist making concessions to the Palestinians as part of the agreement, potentially derailing it. Reports from the U.S. suggest that White House officials previously explored the possibility of forming a unity government in Israel to facilitate the agreement’s passage. Gantz had previously pledged that if an agreement were reached responsibly, he would support it from outside the government without joining it.

Around a month ago, opposition leader MK Yair Lapid visited Washington and engaged in a series of meetings with senior Biden administration officials, senators, and public figures, including Brett McGurk, President Biden’s special envoy for the Middle East. In light of the discussions with Saudi Arabia, Lapid emphasized the need to preserve “Israel’s security interests in any future agreement” and underscored that “strong democracies do not jeopardize their security interests to resolve political issues.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is also expected to travel to Washington later this month for a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. This marks the first time a minister from Binyamin Netanyahu’s government, aside from Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, will meet with a U.S. counterpart in Washington. The meeting follows Netanyahu’s recent encounter with Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

About ten days ago, Netanyahu finally met with Biden during the United Nations Assembly in New York, over nine months after his government was formed. Despite the historically warm relations between the U.S. and Israel, Netanyahu had refrained from allowing his ministers to meet with their counterparts until this meeting took place.