Washington DC – Benny Gantz, an Israeli minister without portfolio, had an audience this week with officials at the highest levels of the US government in Washington, DC: the vice president, the secretary of state and the head of the Pentagon.
U.S. officials expressed support for Israel in its war against the Gaza Strip, called for more aid to the besieged territory and reiterated their call for a pause in fighting, according to government statements.
But analysts say the real message was in holding these meetings: President Joe Biden’s administration expressed frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by hosting a figure seen as Netanyahu’s main domestic rival.
Elevating Gantz without significantly reconsidering US support for Israel, however, is a “meaningless” move that will fail to end abuses against Palestinians, human rights advocates told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“The Biden administration is supposed to express its displeasure with the Israeli government to an opposition politician instead of doing what it should be doing… which is ending all forms of transfers of American weapons to Israel,” said Josh Ruebner, a lecturer at Georgetown University. Justice and Peace Program.
Ruebner added that Netanyahu might be “irritated” by Gantz’s visit to the US capital, but not so much as to push the Israeli prime minister to change his government’s policy toward Gaza.
Netanyahu will not feel like he is losing American support “unless” the threat of sanctions from Washington is on the table, Ruebner told Tel Aviv Tribune. “It is only this that will truly force a change in Israel’s behavior, policies and genocidal actions. »
“Biden’s discreet revenge”
U.S. officials often deny interference in the domestic political affairs of other countries, including Israel.
Pressed Monday on whether Washington thought high-level talks with Gantz were appropriate, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller pointed out that the Israeli politician was a member of the country’s war cabinet.
Gantz has also spoken several times with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, Miller said.
“We see him as an important figure within the Israeli government to engage with and – given the number of issues that we currently have and are in discussion with the Israeli government,” he told the journalists. “For our purposes, this is an important meeting to have.”
Gantz, a former top general, joined Israel’s war cabinet after the outbreak of violence in Gaza. He previously led a centrist political bloc that failed to unseat Netanyahu in several elections.
Despite being part of the government waging the war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, Gantz remains a de facto opponent of Netanyahu and a favorite to succeed him, according to recent opinion polls.
I met today with Benny Gantz of Israel and reiterated our support for Israel’s right to defend itself. We discussed the need to reach a hostage agreement, increase the flow of aid to Gaza and protect civilians. pic.twitter.com/IB6C6qZRFo
– Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 4, 2024
On the US side, Gantz’s visit comes amid a growing number of reports of Biden’s supposed irritation with Netanyahu as the war in Gaza continues.
Netanyahu has openly defied Washington’s demands and policy statements, including rejecting a two-state solution to the conflict.
Nonetheless, the Biden administration has ruled out withholding aid or arms transfers to Israel in order to pressure its main ally to better align with US priorities. In fact, the White House is working with Congress to secure more than $14 billion in additional aid to Israel.
Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center think tank in Washington DC, described Gantz’s reception in the United States as “quiet revenge by Biden against Netanyahu.”
“It means nothing in the final analysis,” Jahshan told Tel Aviv Tribune, adding that the Biden administration is “playing games” in the context of Israeli domestic politics but is failing to change its support for the war.
Netanyahu was not happy that Gantz held meetings in Washington, DC, according to Israeli and US media this week.
An unidentified official from the prime minister’s right-wing Likud party told the Associated Press news agency that Gantz’s trip was not authorized by the government. The official added that Netanyahu had a stern meeting with the minister, emphasizing that Israel had “only one prime minister.”
But analysts stressed that despite his differences with Netanyahu, Gantz should not be seen as a moderate alternative when it comes to Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians – and Gaza in particular.
Jahshan stressed that Gantz, a general who led Israel’s military war against Gaza in 2014, is not a “peacemaker”; he shares the Israeli government’s goal of eliminating Hamas, whatever the cost to the Palestinians.
“Biden and Gantz may care about mitigating the effects of the (current Gaza) war, but they don’t care about the Palestinians or ending the war,” he said.
Gantz’s speeches
Jahshan added that Gantz’s visit was also an opportunity for the Biden administration to reaffirm its unconditional support for Israel.
During her meeting with Gantz, Vice President Kamala Harris “reiterated United States support for Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of persistent terrorist threats from Hamas, and underscored our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.” ‘Israel,’ the White House said in a statement Monday.
For its part, the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “requested Minister Gantz’s support to enable more humanitarian assistance and distribution to Gaza” during their meeting.
Israel has blocked humanitarian aid deliveries from entering Gaza and reaching hard-hit areas, worsening shortages of food, water and medicine.
At least 16 children have died of starvation and dehydration over the past two weeks in the north of the territory, according to health authorities.
“Pleading, asking nicely, engaging in PR stunts like sending 38,000 meals to the Gaza Strip will not prevent the mass starvation that Palestinians are supposedly facing and reverse the reality that Palestinian children are dying literally hungry right now,” said Ruebner, the speaker.
“These are meaningless words in the context of a closed-door meeting with an Israeli politician who is not a key figure in this particular Israeli government. »
Sandra Tamari, executive director of the Adalah Justice Project, an advocacy group, echoed that assessment.
She stressed that the United States must use its influence – the aid and weapons it sends to Israel – to pressure the Israeli government to allow enough humanitarian aid into Gaza.
But instead, she said, Biden is doing everything in his power to “give the illusion” that he is working to end the war while continuing to arm Israel and provide it with diplomatic coverage at the United Nations.
“By welcoming Gantz, the Biden administration may convey the idea that somehow Netanyahu is the only problem, and that it is not the entire system that is to blame,” Tamari told Tel Aviv Tribune.
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