Israel scraps visit to DC after US abstained from UN Security Council resolution – Washington Examiner

U.S. and Israeli relations suffered a huge blow on Monday when the United States chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution regarding the war in Gaza, resulting in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrapping plans to send a delegation to Washington, D.C.

This resolution, which every other country on the Security Council voted in favor of, called for “an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire,” according to a release from the U.N.’s news site. It also called for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs” and “that the parties comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said America did not “agree with everything in the resolution and for that reason we were unfortunately not able to vote yes.” The U.S. wanted a “condemnation of Hamas” included in the text that was not included, she said, noting, however, that it does support some of the objectives of it.

Netanyahu agreed last week to send the delegation to meet with U.S. officials regarding Israel’s intent to carry out military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. But the prime minister’s office has decided to call off the delegation’s visit because the U.S. did not use its veto power on the resolution.

“This retreat hurts the war effort as well as the effort to free the hostages because it gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without freeing our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said. “In light of the change in the American stance, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided the delegation will not depart.”

U.S. National Security Council coordinator John Kirby responded to the news and said, “We’re very disappointed.”

National security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer were set to travel to Washington this week as Israel plans to pursue full-scale military operations in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge from the war. Palestinians have fled south during the war, as instructed by the Israeli military, thus creating a situation where more than a million Palestinians are now in the southernmost part of the strip — the only part of the enclave Israeli forces have yet to carry out significant military operations.

This was the U.N. Security Council’s fourth attempt to pass a resolution on the war. The penultimate attempt took place last Friday, but it failed due to vetoes by Russia and China. They ultimately vetoed the U.S.-backed proposed resolution that linked the ceasefire to a hostage deal and a condemnation of Hamas, the terrorist organization whose attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompted the war.

“Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed,” Thomas-Greenfield said after last Friday’s vote, “even after inclusive consultations over weeks and weeks, even after negotiations and edits produced the draft that received overwhelming Council support.”

The U.S. and many other Western governments have urged Israel not to carry out full-scale military operations due to their concerns that it would lead to significant numbers of civilian casualties. Netanyahu agreed to send the delegation to Washington last Monday during his first phone call with President Joe Biden in more than a month.

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Netanyahu’s decision not to send the delegation over the resolution is the latest example of the fraying relationship between him and Biden, two leaders that have known each other for decades. The U.S. president has supported Israel’s right to defend itself following the Oct. 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of roughly 1,200 people, but he has also urged them to do more to prevent civilian casualties.

Biden and Netanyahu have disagreed publicly on Rafah, who should govern Gaza once the war ends, and on Palestinian statehood, which the U.S. president has said he believes is the best way to secure long-term peace in the Middle East.

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