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Netanyahu’s top advisers will meet at the White House this Thursday

Top advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet White House adviser Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington on Thursday, government sources said, amid tensions between the two allies over Israel’s war in Gaza. Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will speak with Sullivan, while a more formal “strategic dialogue” meeting has been rescheduled, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to a senior State Department official, Blinken will meet the Israelis at 3 p.m. The White House official said the broader meeting has not been canceled but details are being finalized. “Meanwhile, meetings with Israeli officials are taking place throughout the week at the level of experts and senior officials on a variety of topics,” the official said.

Netanyahu released a video in English on Tuesday in which he said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him the Biden administration was working to lift a ban on arms supplies to Israel, which America’s top diplomat declined to confirm. In a rare detail of a typically private diplomatic conversation, Netanyahu also claimed he told Blinken it was “unthinkable” that Washington was “withholding weapons and ammunition” from Israel in recent months. The comments prompted a sharp response from the Biden administration. “We don’t really know what he’s talking about. We just don’t know,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news conference on Tuesday. Blinken said arms shipments were proceeding as usual, except for large bombs, as Israel faced security threats beyond Gaza, including from Hezbollah and Iran. (Reuters)