Top Israeli opposition leader meets US officials in Washington

Israeli opposition leader and National Unity party head Benny Gantz on Thursday said he is visiting Washington to meet US officials to discuss regional issues related to Israel.

Gantz, a former Israeli defense minister, said he met on Wednesday with Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, and other senior officials.

He wrote on X that he discussed "enhancing Israel's vital security interests, expanding Israel's integration in the region and dealing with the threats from Iran and its proxies in the Middle East."

Iran and Israel have been fierce foes since the 1979 Iranian revolution and have often accused each other of sabotage activities.

Gantz, however, did not specify whether he would meet with other US officials in his trip.

His visit to Washington comes as the US has intensified efforts in recent months to strike a deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and Israel don't have diplomatic relations and Riyadh insists that any deal to normalize ties with Tel Aviv must include a component advancing efforts to establish a Palestinian state, concessions that Israel has so far flatly rebuffed.

Six Arab countries have diplomatic ties with Israel, starting with Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in September 2020, and then Sudan and Morocco later that year.