Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Netanyahu demands Gantz pay back costs for March trip to meet Harris in US

14 August 2024, 10:36 pm 21 Edit
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, arrives for a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, arrives for a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz pony up tens of thousands of shekels for a trip he took to the US in March on the state’s dime.

According to the PMO, Gantz’s trip to the US was “not approved, as required by the rules.”

“Before his flight, it was clarified to Gantz and his bureau that since this was a private trip, the Prime Minister’s Office will not cover the costs,” the statement reads.

The statement does not say how much the PMO is seeking from Gantz, but reports put it at NIS 70,000 ($18,000).

Gantz flew to the US in early March, holding meetings with US Vice President Kamala Harris, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, congressional lawmakers and others.

At the time, Netanyahu reportedly fumed over the trip, telling Gantz in a phone call that there is only one prime minister, according to a source close to the premier quoted then by the Ynet news site. According to the report, Netanyahu was unaware of the trip until days before.

In a response carried by Ynet today, Gantz’s office describes the trip as a “state visit with the highest importance by a sitting minister.”

“The prime minister and his people would do well to act to bring back our hostages and return northern residents home, at least with the same obsessive determination as it has chased after the outlay from Gantz’s trip,” the statement says.

A former military chief and defense minister, Gantz is Netanyahu’s main political rival in opinion polls. Gantz brought his National Unity party into the government after the October 7 attack by Palestinian terror group Hamas that triggered the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, but quit the government in June over disagreements on how the war and hostage talks were being managed.

Video posted online late Wednesday shows Gantz receiving extended applause from a large audience as he arrives for a concert performance in Caesarea, Netanyahu’s hometown.

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