Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party and war cabinet minister, is flying to Washington on March 3 for a series of meetings, Ynet reports.
In Washington, Gantz is set to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, members of Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties and leaders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
According to sources close to Gantz, he informed the Prime Minister of his upcoming trip on Friday "to discuss the main points that need to be addressed in the meetings." Following his visit to the United States, Gantz will travel to the United Kingdom, with plans to return to Israel by the following Wednesday.
Ynet notes that Gantz's trip is funded by his own party, not the state budget.
Netanyahu was reportedly infuriated by Gantz's decision to travel for meetings with senior US officials without his approval. "Netanyahu made it clear to Minister Gantz that the State of Israel only has one prime minister," Ynet reports, citing a source in Netanyahu's circle.
Channel 13 reported that the prime minister prohibited Gantz from making the trip. However, the former military chief and defense minister, considered Netanyahu's main political rival in opinion polls, does not intend to change his plans and is going ahead with the trip.
