Gallant: Our enemies are watching, we need to resolve our differences

Israel’s enemies are watching the divide between Washington and Jerusalem, so it's important to resolve the disputes between the two countries, Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The eyes of both our enemies and our friends are on the relationship between the US and Israel. We must resolve the differences between us quickly and stand together – this is how we will achieve our goals and weaken our enemies,” Gallant said.

He spoke amid a bitter public dispute between the two countries over the flow of arms to Israel for its wars against the Iranian proxy groups, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

On different pages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly taken the Biden administration to task for slow-walking arms deliveries to Israel necessary for the war, a charge that both the White House and the State Department have rejected. Senior Republican Senators, however, have backed Netanyahu, explaining that his description is accurate.

Gallant and Blinken met Monday in Washington, as the Biden Administration sought a diplomatic resolution to both the Gaza War in the south and the DIF-Hezbollah war along Israel’s northern border, particularly one that would prevent the latter from escalating into a Third Lebanon War. 

Blinken, according to the State Department, “reaffirmed the US’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”

“He also underscored the importance of avoiding further escalation of the conflict and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes,” the State Department said.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday, “We don't want to see a full-scale war with Hezbollah. We think there ought to be a diplomatic resolution to the conflict across the Israel-Lebanon border.”

Gallant, according to his office, emphasized the importance of US backing for Israel’s battle against Hezbollah and the impact that has on the “actions taken by Hezbollah and Iran.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset plenum on Monday that Iran was behind the war Israel was waging on seven fronts including from attacks by the Houthis in Yemen and militia groups in Iraq and Syria. 

Gallant poke with Blinken about the need to exert more pressure on Hamas to accept the three-phase hostage deal, which US President Joe Biden first unveiled on May 31. 

The two men also spoke about governing alternatives for Gaza once the war with Hamas was over and the terror group no longer ruled the enclave or controlled it militarily.

Blinken told Gallant that the IDF must take “additional steps to protect humanitarian workers in Gaza and deliver assistance throughout Gaza in full coordination with the United Nations,” the State Department said.

“He updated Minister Gallant on ongoing diplomatic efforts to advance security, governance, and reconstruction in Gaza during a post-conflict period and emphasized the importance of that work to Israel’s security,” the State Department explained.

Gallant also met with US special envoy Amos Hochstein, who is working to bring about a diplomatic resolution to Lebanon and is set to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.