“I don’t know who tried to blow up the meeting with [Jordanian King] Abdullah and [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas. I want to continue working on security affairs and the diplomatic aspects of those security affairs. Anyone who sends soldiers into battle must ensure that every diplomatic effort was made first.”
This was the first public response by Defense Minister Benny Gantz to recent reports that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid went behind his back and spoke with regional leaders, in an alleged effort to thwart a conference in Ramallah that he was planning for this week. Gantz made his remarks in a primetime interview at 8 p.m. on Channel 12 News. He was effectively confirming the reports.
The conference that was subverted revealed more about the conflicts within Israel’s leadership between the prime minister, foreign minister and defense minister. It did away with any illusion of harmony in the highest echelons, which they try to present to the public. Each of the three men tries to stand out at the expense of the others, and to build up his own reputation as the central figure behind Israeli policy. Gantz has not given up his dream of one day being prime minister, Lapid is already revving up his engines in preparation for the day that he takes over from Bennett, and Bennett still wants to leave a mark. The result is a foreign policy that lacks any real cohesion.
The conference in Ramallah, which was ultimately torpedoed, is perhaps the most comprehensive example of this. According to reports, the defense minister’s office was able to organize a meeting in Ramallah with the Jordanian monarch and the Palestinian leader in order to lower tension during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Apparently, Gantz did this without coordinating with the offices of the prime minister’s office or foreign minister, while they were busy organizing the March 28-29 Negev summit. Foreign ministers from the United States, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates all attended the conference, which was hosted by Lapid.
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