In the wake of Minister Benny Gantz's decision to hold a diplomatic visit to Washington without clearing it with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the latter instructed the Israeli Embassy in the US to withhold any assistance in arranging the meetings he was scheduled to have in the US capital.
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Gantz's people are handling the visit independently vis-à-vis the Biden administration, his office said. The minister is expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Israel Hayom has learned that the Prime Minister's Office, the government ministry in which Gantz serves as minister, did not fund the trip. According to a senior source in the Prime Minister's Office: "In the absence of approval from the government and the cabinet secretary, there is no government funding for the trip." In response, the State Party stated: "The trip was paid for, that's what matters, everything else is a distraction."
Gantz arrived in the US for meetings with senior American officials and from there he is expected to hold more such discussions in London. The goals of the visit, according to Gantz's people, are to strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, preserve the legitimacy for continued action in the Gaza Strip, and also promote a security arrangement in Lebanon.
Gantz claims that he updated the prime minister about the intention of the trip in order to coordinate messages to be conveyed in the meetings. Those around Netanyahu claim that his trip violates government procedure.
"Mr. Gantz, your entry into government was in order to create emergency unity, not to be a Trojan horse," Likud MK and Minister David Amsalem wrote on Twitter. "Your flight this morning to the United States is in complete violation of government regulations (you are the one who always cries that agreements are violated).
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