The Age/5.3.2024//Aamer Madhani and Seung Min Kim
If only there was a real split – but this is just another delaying tactic to allow the genocide to continue – Mark
Washington: A member of Israel’s war cabinet has flown to the United States to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and other senior officials in defiance of Benjamin Netanyahu who told him country has “just one prime minister”.
The unauthorised trip by Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival who joined Netanyahu’s three-minister wartime cabinet after Hamas’ October 7 attack, comes after Harris issued a forceful call for a temporary ceasefire deal in Gaza and also increased pressure on Israel not to impede the aid that workers were trying to get into the region.
The White House has been advocating for that framework deal for weeks creating friction between the two counties’ leaders over how to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and what the post-war plan for the enclave should look like.
An official from Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party said Gantz’s trip was planned without authorisation from the Israeli leader. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu had a “tough talk” with Gantz and told him the country has “just one prime minister”.
Gantz was scheduled to meet Harris and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday (AEDT) and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, according to his National Unity Party.
”Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire 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.
“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.”
The White House is hosting Netanyahu’s rival as Biden faces mounting political pressure at home over his administration’s handling of the five-month Israeli-Hamas war, which was triggered after militants in Gaza launched an attack, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 people hostage.
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