Israeli The leader of the opposition Yair Lapid will travel to Washington, DC, next week, according to Israeli media.
The focus of his trip will be “strengthening the Israel-US strategic relationship, bringing the hostages home, and Israel’s role in the region,” said an anonymous person from Lapid’s office. Times of Israel on tuesday
Lapid is a political rival of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuwhich has been critical for his management of October 7 Hamas terrorist attack and Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza.
Earlier this week, Lapid he said holding elections before the end of the war “is not ideal”, but he stressed that it is necessary “because this government has not fixed the budget, it has not fixed the [Haredi] draft, and, above all, he will not bring home the hostages. And you know what? We will not win the war either because we will not have the world with us and we will not have the people of Israel [fully united].”
“This is an existential moment” for Israel, he added. “The people who were supposed to keep our children safe didn’t do it. … The soul of the state is bleeding.
Lapid said that the call of the Majority Leader of the United States Senate Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for new Israeli elections in mid-April is proof that Netanyahu “is losing the biggest supporters of Israel in the United States” and “causes significant damage to the national effort to win the war.” and maintain Israel’s security.”
On Monday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met virtually with Israeli officials, including National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, to discuss the planned operations from Israel in Rafah. More than a million Palestinian civilians have taken refuge in Rafah because of the conflict, and Israel has yet to publicly detail its plans to keep them safe in its operations.
President Joe Biden is still in support of Israel’s war against Hamas even though he has received more criticism of Israel’s behavior. The US administration continues to supply weapons to Israel. Yet the rift between Biden and Netanyahu was on display during the war.
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The President of the United States called for a ground operation in Rafah”red line” for him, although he maintained that he would not leave Israel defenseless. After his State of the Union address to Congress last month, Biden said he hopes to have a “come to Jesus“conversation with Netanyahu.
Benny Gantz, a top member of Israel’s war cabinet, traveled to Washington in early March for meetings with US officials, including Blinken, Sullivan, Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Netanyahu was reporttedly unhappy with Gantz’s trip.
