Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off a trip to Washington by senior officials to discuss the Gaza war after the US failed to veto a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire on Monday.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi were set to visit the US along with a representative of COGAT to promote the war effort, the Prime Minister’s Office said last week. According to Israeli media, the Biden administration was expected to present to the Israeli delegation several alternative options for an operation in Rafah.
The PMO said in response to the vote, “The US has backed down from its consistent stance in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.”
The US did not veto a version of the resolution that calls for a ceasefire that is not dependent on the release of hostages, which is a clear backing down from its stance, according to the PMO.
“This backing down hurts the war effort and the effort to release the hostages because it gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without releasing our hostages,” added the PMO.
The UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the US decided to abstain from the vote and did not veto the resolution as it had with three earlier draft council resolutions on the war in Gaza.
The resolution demanded an immediate ceasefire for Ramadan that will lead to a “lasting sustainable” ceasefire. The resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli hostages and emphasizes that humanitarian access must be allowed to hostages to meet their medical and other needs.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby addressed reporters moments after the UNSC vote on Monday morning, saying the US’s abstention of the vote does not represent a shift in US policy.
“We have been clear, and we’ve been consistent in our support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal,” Kirby said. “That’s how the hostage deal is structured. We wanted to get to a place where we could support that resolution, but because the final text does not have key language that we think is essential like a condemnation of Hamas, we could not support it.”
White House uninformed of Israel's changing plans
Kirby said senior US officials would still meet for separate talks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on hostages, humanitarian aid, and protecting civilians in Rafah. He stressed that US policy had not changed, despite the decision to abstain from the UN vote.
“We were looking forward to having a discussion [about] alternatives and options to a major ground offensive because we don’t believe that a ground offensive in Rafah is the right course of action,” Kirby told reporters when asked about reports that the other Israeli visit had been canceled.
“If there’s not going to be a delegation visit this week, then we will obviously keep having conversations with our Israeli counterparts and doing the best we can to continue to share our perspectives with them,” Kirby said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated after the vote that “because the final text does not have key language we view as essential, notably a condemnation of Hamas, we could not support it.”
On Monday, the White House said it had not been informed of any change in plans for an Israeli delegation to visit Washington, despite reports that Netanyahu had canceled the visit because of Washington’s abstention.
Gallant’s meeting at the Pentagon on Monday was separate from the delegation that planned to come to Washington on Tuesday.
War minister and National Unity leader Benny Gantz responded, saying that “not only should the delegation go [to DC], it would be better if the prime minister went to the US himself and had a direct conversation with President [Joe] Biden and with senior government officials.
“This is true in regular times, and even more true now, when the weight of the US support for Israel is so significant,” he said.
He also said the resolution does not have operational meaning for Israel, and that Israel will continue to listen to its friends while always doing what is right for its security.
“The special relationship that Israel and the US share is an anchor in Israel’s security and diplomatic relationships, and the direct conversation with the US government is a vital asset that we must not give up on even when there are challenges and disagreements,” he said
The US representative, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who abstained from the vote and did not veto the resolution, asked later that the council speak out and demand that Hamas accept the hostage deal on the table.
The US did not vote yes because there was no Hamas condemnation in the resolution, according to Greenfield.
Israel Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan called the failure of the resolution to condemn the October 7 massacre a disgrace. Erdan reminded the council that Israel did not “want this war,” but wanted “ceasefire and coexistence.”
Erdan criticized the UN, saying “Hamas converted every inch of Gaza into a terror machine, right under the UN’s nose, maybe with the help of some of the UN agencies like UNRWA.”
He also criticized a lack of action taken by the UNSC to help Israeli hostages. He said the council had failed to take action for the hostages, but “when it comes to Gaza, the council rushed to take action,” appointing a special coordinator and creating mechanisms to send aid.
Erdan also said that demands for a ceasefire that are not conditioned on the release of the hostages could undermine efforts to secure their release by giving Hamas hope that it could achieve a ceasefire without the release of hostages.
Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour welcomed the vote, saying “it has taken over 100,000 Palestinians killed and maimed, two million displaced, and famine for this council to finally demand a ceasefire.”
Mansour went on to say that Israel has “doubled down” on committing crimes against Palestinians during the war after it was ordered by the International Court of Justice to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians.
Hamas welcomed the resolution, calling on the UN Security Council to pressure Israel to implement a ceasefire. The terrorist movement also said it was ready to engage in “an immediate prisoner exchange process that leads to the release of prisoners on both sides,” despite the resolution’s requirement that the release of the hostages held by Hamas be conducted “immediately and unconditionally.”
“The Hamas movement appreciates the efforts of the brothers in Algeria and all the countries in the Security Council that supported and support our people, and are working to stop the Zionist aggression and war of annihilation,” said Hamas.
The Foreign Ministry of the Palestinian Authority welcomed the resolution as well, demanding that member states of the council work to ensure that a ceasefire is implemented.
The UK regretted that this resolution did not condemn the Hamas October 7 attack, said UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who added that a humanitarian catastrophe is developing in Gaza.
Woodward went on to call for the formation of a new Palestinian government in the West Bank and Gaza and to remove Hamas from leadership in Gaza.
Before voting on the resolution, the Russian Federation expressed disappointment that the resolution did not call for a “permanent” ceasefire but for a “lasting” ceasefire, saying this wording is not strong enough.
Russia proposed to amend the draft to demand a “permanent ceasefire,” but the amendment was not passed.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.