Blinken inbound, Netanyahu first meets with fmr VP Mike Pence, who also met with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz Sunday
Blinken coming to pressure Israel not to enlarge war, while Pence came to stand 100% with Israel’s fight against Iran and its proxies
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – As the northern front heats up, and Hezbollah terror attacks on Israel continue to escalate in intensity and destruction, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Israel later today.
Blinken is expected to warn Israel not to get enmeshed in a larger war in Lebanon, according to a story in the Washington Post.
“President Biden has dispatched his top aides to the Middle East with a critical objective: Prevent a full-blown war from erupting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,” the Post reported on Sunday.
“Blinken is set to arrive Monday in Israel, where he will discuss specific steps to ‘avoid escalation,’ his spokesman Matthew Miller said before boarding a plane to the Middle East,” the Post noted.
That suggests Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his colleagues – including War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz – could be in for a very tense meeting.
After the Biden administration’s initially strong support for Israel after the Oct. 7 invasion and massacres by Hamas, its support for the Jewish state is noticeably weakening.
Biden has allowed a $14.5 billion military aid package for Israel that was passed in October by the U.S. House of Representatives to get stalled in the Senate.
For three months.
And the administration keeps making public statements about how Israel should slow down its war operations in Gaza against Hamas.
And that Israel isn’t doing enough to provide humanitarian relief for civilians in Gaza.
And should be more open to accepting a ceasefire.
Such pressure against an American ally under continual attack from multiple fronts is not helpful.
Israeli officials have said repeatedly they are open to a diplomatic solution by which Hezbollah agrees to retreat back above the Litani River – about 20 miles from Israel’s northern border – in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 but never enforced.
But Israeli officials add that time is running out for diplomacy.
Jerusalem will not abide by escalating Hezbollah attacks on Israeli communities and IDF positions in the northern tier and will soon invade to push Hezbollah northwards if it must.
Israel wants, and frankly deserves, full-throated American support for keeping international law.
This is why I’m finding the contrast between the just-ended visit to Israel by former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and the just-beginning visit by Secretary Blinken so stark and thus so interesting.
Ahead of the Blinken showdown, both Netanyahu and Gantz – in separate meetings – warmly welcomed Pence at the Kirya, the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Pence has been vastly more supportive of Israel’s war efforts over the past few months – and indeed over the past few days – than the Biden administration.
The former VP was in Israel for the past five days to show his unequivocal and unconditional solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.
Pence also consistently urged Israeli leaders not to bow to misguided American or international pressure but to fully resolve to finish the job of defeating the radical Islamist enemies that threaten the security, peace and prosperity of the Jewish state.
In repeated interviews with U.S. and Israeli media outlets this past week – including his interview with ALL ISRAEL NEWS and THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN, Pence said the true evil behind the “invasion” of Israel on Oct. 7, and all the terror attacks against Israel, since are emanating from the Iranian regime in Tehran, its regional proxy forces.
Israel cannot lower its guard against any of these, Pence warned.
The former VP is absolutely right.
His message – which stands in sharp contrast to Blinken’s – is particularly welcome to senior Israeli officials who feel increasingly attacked by, and isolated from, the international community.
Netanyahu met with Pence for about an hour late on Sunday afternoon.
Photos were released soon after.
Several hours earlier, Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz sent out several photos and a message on X thanking Pence for coming to Israel and for visiting with him personally to discuss the critical issues facing the U.S.-Israeli alliance and Israel’s very serious security challenges.
“I met today with the former Vice President of the United States @Mike_Pence,” Gantz wrote.
“We discussed the war’s development, the ironclad partnership and friendship between the U.S. and Israel, and the importance of sustained American leadership in the region.”
“Finally, and above all, I conveyed to former VP Pence my heartfelt appreciation for his unwavering personal support for the State of Israel, particularly since October 7th.”
I met today with the former Vice President of the United States @Mike_Pence.
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) January 7, 2024
We discussed the war’s development, the ironclad partnership and friendship between the US and Israel, and the importance of sustained American leadership in the region.
Finally, and above all, I… pic.twitter.com/htfsFd9vYW
Prior to this, Pence was also warmly welcomed in meetings with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and others.
Pence is the highest-ranking Republican to visit Israel since Oct. 7.
He is also the highest-profile Evangelical Christian to come on a solidarity mission over the past three months.
Humbling to meet with @Israel_katz and families of hostages tragically taken by Hamas after the Oct. 7th terrorist attack. America will stand with Israel today, tomorrow, and every day until every hostage is returned home and the fight against Hamas has been won. 🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/XqLBsUkLbg
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) January 7, 2024
As reported by ALL ISRAEL NEWS, in November the Rev. Franklin Graham became the first high-profile Evangelical leader to visit, touring sites of Hamas atrocities, delivering humanitarian relief through his ministry, Samaritan’s Purse, and meeting with senior Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu.
In December, former Governor Mike Huckabee and I brought a delegation of prominent Evangelical leaders to Israel to meet with hostage families, IDF officials, Jewish and Christian leaders in the land, and to meet with senior government officials, including the prime minister.
Pence was chosen by then-President Donald J. Trump in 2016 to serve as Trump’s running mate.
When they won the 2016 election, Pence served as the 48th Vice President of the United States in an administration widely described as the most pro-Israel in American history.
Sadly, their relationship ruptured in the wake of the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
But, even though Pence is no longer in government office, and has gone his separate ways from Trump, he remains unapologetically committed to advancing the issues he cares most about, including strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance, a position he told he emanates from his personal faith in Jesus Christ and his love for the Bible as the Word of God.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.
