Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Benny Gantz (Reuters)

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that War Council member Benny Gantz will travel tomorrow, Sunday, to Washington, and then to London, to hold a series of meetings without coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The newspaper added that those close to Netanyahu confirmed his anger at Gantz’s behavior, and that it violates government regulations, as they put it.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu explained to Gantz that Israel has only one prime minister, and that he must obtain his permission before traveling.

The newspaper pointed out that Gantz's visit comes at an important time related to discussions about concluding a new prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.

American reports indicate that Washington's patience is beginning to run out with Netanyahu's behavior in the war on Gaza, and Israeli allegations that Netanyahu is shackled by his partners in the government, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Biden's attack on Ben Gvir

US President Joe Biden strongly attacked the Israeli government, and specifically mentioned Minister Ben Gvir, as Biden warned that if Israel continued on its current path with “such a conservative government” it could lose “international legitimacy.”

Senior American officials told the Yedioth Ahronoth website that the United States continues to press “with all its might” to reach an exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and they warned that “if we prove that Netanyahu is sabotaging this matter for political reasons, this will lead to a direct collision with the White House.” ".

American officials claimed that although “Hamas is evasive and maneuvering and does not make life easy for us, Israel is doing the same thing,” adding, “This will not stop us. We are focused on completing the deal.”

US officials also pointed to statements by President Biden on the subject, who attacked Netanyahu's government and actually stopped short of promoting the term "ceasefire."

They explained, "What we heard from the president is only the beginning, and if we come to the conclusion that the Israeli Prime Minister is postponing the deal for political reasons, we will hear more serious things from Biden, and the goal of Gantz's arrival in Washington may also be to convey a message to Netanyahu."

Israel is witnessing a sharp dispute between Gantz and Netanyahu, as the leader of the National Unity Party and a member of the Military Ministerial Council tried weeks ago to overthrow the prime minister, using members of the Likud Party led by Netanyahu, according to what Israeli Army Radio reported.

Since the formation of the War Council - which is headed by Netanyahu and includes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Gantz - Israeli media have reported on more than one occasion that there are disagreements between Netanyahu and Gallant on the one hand, and Netanyahu and Gantz on the other hand regarding the management of the war and the file of Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press