WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday will host a member of Israel’s war cabinet who is visiting Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, is speaking this week with several senior Biden administration officials, including Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. President Joe Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday.
An official from Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party said Gantz did not have the prime minister’s approval for his Washington rallies and that Netanyahu gave the cabinet official a “tough speech” — underscoring the widening rift within Israel’s wartime leadership for nearly six months after the start of the war. Israel-Hamas war.
During her meeting with Gantz, Harris plans to push for a temporary ceasefire that would allow the release of several categories of hostages held by Hamas. Israel has essentially agreed to the deal, a senior Biden administration official said, and the White House has emphasized that the onus is on Hamas to join.
“Given the immense scale of the suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is currently on the table,” Harris said during an appearance in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday. “This will get the hostages out and bring in a significant amount of aid.”
Harris continued: “This would allow us to build something more lasting to ensure that Israel is safe and to respect the Palestinian people’s right to dignity, freedom and self-determination.”
For his part, Gantz plans to strengthen ties with the US, increase support for Israel’s war and push for the release of Israeli hostages, a second Israeli official said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly discuss disputes within the Israeli government.
The meetings also come as the US begins a series of airdrops of aid in Gaza, just days after dozens of Palestinians were killed trying to get food from a convoy organized by Israel. The first drop on Saturday included about 38,000 meals to southwestern Gaza, and White House officials have said these air drops will continue to supplement truck deliveries as they also work to send aid by sea.
In Selma on Sunday, Harris called on Israel to “do more to significantly increase the flow of aid.”
“No excuses,” she said. “They have to open new border crossings. They may not impose unnecessary restrictions on the provision of assistance.”
Harris previously met Gantz at the 2022 Munich Security Conference.
___
Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Wafaa Shurafa from Rafah, Gaza Strip; and Samy Magdy from Cairo contributed to this report.