When Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in London on Wednesday, he got a pointed message: Israel must do more to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.
In the flurry of high-level diplomacy that has enveloped the Israel-Hamas war, such ministerial meetings typically attract modest attention. But Mr Gantz and Mr Cameron are more than just officials.
Gantz, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, is a popular political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has expressed deep displeasure over what he sees as an unsanctioned visit by Israel’s future leader.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron enjoyed unusual latitude as foreign secretary, speaking out forcefully on issues such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine while traveling internationally while often being seen as still in his old role.
The unusual spectacle of the meeting – with almost two shadow leaders – illustrates each country’s unique domestic politics. Israel is locked in a devastating war that has led to a temporary alliance between Netanyahu and Gantz. Britain is in the twilight of an era of Conservative-led government, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak more concerned about a general election later this year than foreign policy.
Diplomats and experts say it would be valuable for Britain to send Cameron to deliver a tough message to Israel because it would draw more attention than a message from a standard cabinet minister. It also allows Sunak to avoid the political risk of directly pressuring Netanyahu and possibly being rebuffed.
“Cameron is a beast, relatively speaking,” said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator who now directs the U.S./Middle East Program Institute in London and New York. “They want Gantz to know how desperate the humanitarian situation has become, how much pressure it has put on the relationship, and how difficult it will be to continue like this.”
Cameron said at the meeting statement, he and Mr. Gantz discussed efforts to suspend the fighting, and Mr. Cameron urged him to increase aid. While he said the UK supported Israel’s right to self-defence, “as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel has a legal responsibility to ensure that civilians receive assistance.”
Cameron added: “This responsibility has consequences, including when we in the UK assess Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.”
Gantz also met with British national security adviser Tim Barrow, and Sunak also participated in the meeting, according to Gantz’s office.
Including Mr. Gantz in these meetings also sends a message to Mr. Netanyahu. The prime minister’s refusal to suspend military operations or agree a hostage deal with Hamas, let alone his refusal to reach a future peace deal with the Palestinians, has frustrated officials in London and Washington.
There were also tensions within the War Cabinet over some of these issues. Gantz has sometimes aligned himself with another former top military commander, Gadi Eisenkot, against Netanyahu, according to Israeli analysts. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Gantz is seen as a rival for prime minister in future elections.
“Gantz and Eisenkot publicly disagreed with Netanyahu over the terms of the Hamas hostage agreement,” Mr. Levy said. “I think the British would gently urge them to understand what’s going on at home.”
Gantz, 64, currently has higher approval ratings than Netanyahu, who had been in legal trouble before the war and whom many Israelis blame for his role in the Oct. 7 attack on Hamas militants. Intelligence lapses in molecular attacks. A recent poll by Israeli television Channel 13 showed that if elections were held today, Gantz’s centrist National Unity party would win 39 seats in the Knesset, while Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party would win 39 seats in the Knesset. Only 17 seats were won.
Before his stop in London, Gantz visited Washington and met with Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday, but as some Israeli journalists had speculated in advance, he There was no meeting with the president. Biden.
Gantz told Netanyahu he planned to fly to the United States to coordinate his messaging in meetings with U.S. officials, according to a statement from Gantz’s office. Mr Netanyahu nonetheless expressed his dissatisfaction that Mr Gantz was traveling without diplomatic support.
In Washington and London, the most pressing issue is the halt in the flow of humanitarian aid. Ms. Harris urged a moratorium on the fighting in Gaza and urged the Israeli government to do more to get aid to those in need in Gaza, according to the White House.
“Kamala Harris, in particular, is pandering to progressives and Arab Americans by emphasizing her protection of Palestinians in Gaza,” said Martin S. Indyk, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. “I think he gets it and we’re going to see more action from Israel, hopefully more, to keep the aid coming.”
If Ms Harris is seen as a supporter of the Palestinians in the Biden White House, Mr Cameron plays a similar role in the British government. Last month, during a visit to the Falkland Islands, he said Israel should focus “immediately” on a ceasefire rather than launch a military offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which has become a haven for fleeing Palestinians.
Speaking in the House of Lords on Tuesday, Cameron expressed frustration among British officials over the slow pace of aid. He warned that civilians trapped in Gaza faced the real prospect of famine and disease.
“We’ve asked the Israelis to do a whole range of things, but I have to report that the amount of aid they got in February was about half what it was in January,” Mr Cameron said. “So patience needs to run out and a series of warnings need to be issued, starting with my meeting with Minister Gantz.”
Critics say Cameron’s outspokenness has sometimes caused problems. Last month, for example, he said Britain might consider recognizing a Palestinian state even before peace talks between Palestine and Israel begin. That angered Israelis and prompted a vote in the Knesset, in which 99 members voted against any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
Sunak later clarified that Britain’s policy of seeking a two-state solution to the conflict had not changed. The United States also supports a Palestinian state through a negotiated settlement with Israel.
Indyk, the former ambassador, said the Knesset vote allowed Netanyahu to tell the Biden administration that there was “widespread opposition to Palestinian statehood based on things the government has no intention of doing.” “