Gantz rejects US defense pact, slams Netanyahu for floating the idea

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, a former head of the army, rejects the idea floated once again earlier today by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of negotiating a mutual defense pact of some kind with the United States.

“Blue and White under my leadership will not support an international agreement that limits Israel’s freedom of action and the ability of the IDF to defend the country from the threats it faces,” Gantz says in a Hebrew-language tweet.

Netanyahu earlier today said he had spoken about the idea with US President Donald Trump in a phone call yesterday.

“I feel profound appreciation for our strategic relationship with the United States, an ally that shares our values and interests,” Gantz goes on, but slams Netanyahu’s defense pact idea as a political stunt that could hurt Israel’s security.

“There’s cause for grave concern that a prime minister who’s now thinking only about himself will tie the hands of our security forces, despite the longstanding opposition of the defense establishment.”

There is concern among senior Israeli defense officials that any defense treaty could see Israeli troops put in harm’s way for foreign interests, or (equally unpalatable for Israeli military planners over the decades) foreign troops being called on to defend Israel.