For the more and more tense U.S.-Israel relationship, the fallout from passage of the U.N. cease-fire decision was rapid, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned Monday that he wouldn’t ship a deliberate high-level delegation to Washington for conferences with U.S. officers.
President Biden had requested the conferences to debate alternate options to a deliberate Israeli offensive into Rafah, the southern Gaza metropolis the place greater than one million individuals have sought refuge, an offensive that American officers have mentioned would create an humanitarian catastrophe.
America had vetoed three earlier U.N. Safety Council resolutions calling for an finish to the battle in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, agreeing with Israel’s argument that it might depart Hamas intact and answerable for the enclave after it carried out the Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
However on Monday, when the Safety Council took up a much less strongly worded decision, calling for a cease-fire for the holy month of Ramadan, the U.S. consultant abstained, permitting the measure to cross.
Mr. Netanyahu, in an announcement, denounced the abstention as “a retreat from the constant American place because the starting of the battle,” one which “provides Hamas hope that worldwide stress will allow them to attain a cease-fire with out liberating the hostages.”
In response, he mentioned, the Israeli delegation that was to debate Rafah wouldn’t go to Washington. The sensible influence of his determination could also be restricted — Mr. Netanyahu has mentioned repeatedly that though he would hear out the White Home place, the offensive would proceed — however it’s nonetheless a pointy, public rebuke of Israel’s closest and strongest ally.
Briefing reporters on the White Home, John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the Nationwide Safety Council, insisted there had been no change within the American place, and mentioned that the USA had abstained, reasonably than vote for the U.N. measure, mainly as a result of “this decision textual content didn’t embody a condemnation of Hamas.”
“The prime minister’s workplace appears to be indicating via public statements that we someway modified right here,” Mr. Kirby mentioned. “We haven’t.”
As for the canceled Israeli delegation, he added: “We had been wanting ahead to having a possibility to talk to a delegation later this week on exploring viable choices and alternate options to a serious floor offensive in Rafah.”
“We felt we had invaluable classes to share,” Mr. Kirby mentioned.
He famous that Yoav Gallant, the Israeli protection minister, was in Washington and was nonetheless assembly with President Biden’s nationwide safety adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Monday, and can be assembly with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.
Mr. Gallant, earlier than assembly with Mr. Sullivan, gave no signal Israel would comply with a cease-fire. “We are going to function in opposition to Hamas in every single place — together with in locations the place we’ve not but been,” he mentioned. He added, “We have now no ethical proper to cease the battle whereas there are nonetheless hostages held in Gaza.”
Mr. Gallant and Mr. Austin will talk about Israel’s planning for Rafah once they meet on Tuesday, mentioned Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, and Israel’s request for extra American weapons. He reiterated the administration’s place that earlier than going into Rafah, Israel will need to have an in depth plan to guard, shelter and feed the civilians there.
“A floor invasion, particularly with none kind of credible plan, is a mistake given the big variety of individuals, displaced individuals, which are there in the mean time,” Common Ryder advised reporters.
The U.N. decision and the American function in it drew offended responses from far-right components of Israel’s authorities. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the nationwide safety minister, referred to as the transfer “proof that President Biden shouldn’t be prioritizing Israel and the free world’s victory over terrorism, however reasonably his personal political concerns.” The decision, he mentioned in an announcement, ought to immediate Israel to accentuate reasonably than average its army marketing campaign.
Israel has confronted intense worldwide criticism over its conduct of the battle in retaliation for the Oct. 7 assault — a bombing marketing campaign and floor invasion which have killed some 30,000 individuals, displaced most of Gaza’s inhabitants and diminished a lot of the territory to ruins.
President Biden and different U.S. officers have turn into more and more, overtly essential of the battle effort, saying that Israel ought to do extra to keep away from civilian casualties and permit extra help into Gaza — an unusually stark breach between the 2 nations.
Hamas is holding greater than 100 hostages seized throughout the Oct. 7 assault, and negotiations have been underway for the discharge of hostages in return for Israel liberating Palestinian inmates in its prisons. The U.N. decision requires the rapid launch of hostages.
Hamas welcomed the U.N. Safety Council decision in an announcement on Telegram, including that the Palestinian armed group was keen “to instantly have interaction on a prisoner change course of that may result in the discharge of prisoners on each side.”
“Hamas calls upon the Safety Council to stress Israel to adjust to a cease-fire and finish the battle, the genocide and ethnic cleaning in opposition to our individuals,” the group mentioned.
Eric Schmitt, David E. Sanger and Cassandra Vinograd contributed reporting.
