Kamala Harris to meet Netanyahu rival in push for a cease-fire

Gantz, a centrist and Netanyahu's main political rival, will be meeting high-ranking officials including Vice President Kamala Harris

(Image credit: Abir Sultan / pool / AFP via Getty Images)

By Peter Weber, The Week US

published 4 March 2024

What happened?

Israeli Cabinet minister Benny Gantz traveled to Washington on Sunday without authorization from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Gantz, a centrist and Netanyahu's main political rival, will meet several high-ranking officials on Monday, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who called Sunday for an "immediate cease-fire for at least six weeks" to ease the "immense scale of suffering in Gaza."

Netanyahu's "staggering strategic incompetence" has already cost him "the trust of most voters," and his government is "embarrassingly indifferent and unfocused when it comes to managing relations with Israel's most important ally, the United States," former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said in Foreign Affairs. Between the Gantz visit and airdrops of aid into Gaza, Yossi Verter said at Israel's Haaretz, the White House wants to "show Israelis and the world that the U.S. sees Netanyahu as a burden and obstacle for his country and the entire region."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.