Benjamin Netanyahu cancels Israeli delegation to US over UN Gaza vote

Israeli PM said US failure to veto Security Council ceasefire proposal was ‘clear retreat’ from previous position and would harm war efforts against Hamas
White House said the US was disappointed over Israeli decision but ‘nothing has changed’ about view that ground offensive in Rafah would be a mistake’

Israel-Gaza war

Reuters

Published: 1:23am, 26 Mar 2024

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he will not send a delegation as planned to Washington after the United States refrained from vetoing a UN Security Council proposal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office, said Washington’s failure to block the proposal was a “clear retreat” from its previous position, and would hurt war efforts against Hamas, as well as efforts to release more than 130 hostages in Gaza captivity.

“In light of the change in the American position, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided the delegation would not leave,” his office said.

The UN Security Council voted to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained from the vote.

Ambassadors, except for US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, second left, raise their hands to vote in favour of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, during a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The White House denied that the US abstention reflected a change in American policy.

The high-level delegation was expected to travel to Washington to discuss a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are taking shelter.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby fielded queries about Israel’s decision to pull out of the meeting this week just as Netanyahu was announcing it.

Kirby said the decision was unfortunate but that the United States would bring up its concerns about Israel’s policies as part of continuing discussions between the two governments.

“It’s disappointing. We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington DC to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to them going in on the ground in Rafah.”

“Nothing has changed about our view that a major ground offensive in Rafah would be a major mistake,” Kirby said.

UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza after US abstains

He said discussions between visiting Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others would cover the same points that the US team had planned to raise with the delegation.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We believe this type of full-scale invasion would be a mistake,” adding that Blinken was likely to discuss Rafah with Gallant.

Sullivan said later on Monday he had a “constructive discussion” with Gallant.

“I welcomed Yoav’s commitment to take additional steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Sullivan said in a post on the social media site X.

In Israel, parliamentary opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of trying to divert attention away from a rift in his coalition over a military conscription bill at the expense of ties with the United States.

“It’s shocking irresponsibility from a prime minister who has lost it,” Lapid wrote on social media platform X.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse