"Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz landed Sunday in the United States in what senior Israeli officials said was a calculated move by the White House designed to strengthen the moderate wing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government,” Haaretz reports.
“Gantz is scheduled to meet with senior officials, including White House meetings with Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday. He will also meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, and pay a call to Congress.”
“The trip has created tensions between Gantz and the prime minister, who had refused to authorize it. Netanyahu instructed Mike Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, not to assist Gantz during the visit and not to join the meetings.”
It seems like a classic political triangulation. On one end he’s shown to allies of the US that they will stand with their partners (soft power). In this case it involves participating in genocide. The pivot comes when said ally shows that their intentions are not in line with what the global community considers defendable. Then both sides are covered. It’s slimy and immoral but I don’t think people consider how important soft power is on a state level.