Netanyahu to Gallant: You’re Not the PM

By Staff, Agencies

Ongoing tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Minister Yoav Gallant have risen further in recent days amid potential progress toward a captives’ release deal.

Netanyahu further barred Gallant from leading his own meeting with war chiefs on the matter, and at one point telling him he was “not the prime minister.”

Mossad Director David Barnea flew to Doha and back on Friday to discuss the deal with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani. After Barnea’s return, Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying that “gaps between the parties” remain, and that the “Israeli” delegation would attend follow-up negotiations in the coming week.

According to Hebrew Channel 12, which did not cite sources, Gallant had in recent days planned to hold a meeting with Barnea and “Shin Bet” Director Ronen Bar to discuss the state of negotiations. Netanyahu, apparently feeling he was being sidelined, told Gallant he would be the one to lead such a meeting.

The network said Netanyahu complained that otherwise, “you come to me with everything already settled.”

A senior “Israeli” official told the Walla news site Friday that Netanyahu had dispatched his foreign policy aide Ophir Falk to join Barnea in Doha. Falk was sent to “supervise” Barnea in light of Netanyahu’s growing distrust of the hostage negotiating team, the official said.

Channel 12 said Netanyahu and Gallant have differing views on the new proposal submitted by Hamas in recent days, with Gallant believing “Israel” should move forward on an agreement, while Netanyahu feels Hamas’s latest offer includes demands “Israel” cannot accept and that further military pressure on Hamas is needed.