“In light of the chance in stance, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to cancel the delegation to Washington”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that we would not send a delegation to Washington D.C. after the United States refrained from using its veto power on a UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to a statement by his office, Netanyahu said that Washington’s failure to veto the resolution was a “clear retreat” from its previous position, and would hurt war efforts in Gaza.
“This withdrawal hurts both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages, because it gives (the Palestinian Resistance movement) Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to accept a cease-fire without the release of our hostages,” the statement said, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
“In light of the chance in stance, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to cancel the delegation to Washington,” the statement continued.
US Abstains – UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for Gaza Ceasefire
Prior to the vote, Netanyahu threatened to cancel the visit of the delegation, which was set to discuss alternatives to the invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
White House Spokesperson John Kirby said that the vote “does not represent a shift in our policy”.
Kirby also stated that the US was “looking forward to having an opportunity to speak to an Israeli delegation later this week” about “exploring alternatives to a major ground offensive in Rafah”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with the US Administration of Joe Biden.
In a statement, Gallant said that “he would meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J. Burns and focus on ‘preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge,’ including ‘our ability to obtain platforms and munitions’.”
‘This is What We Want’ – Palestinians in Gaza React to UN Resolution, Russian Veto
UNSC Vote
The United Nations Security Council adopted on Monday a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as the United Nations refrained from using its veto power for the first time, after 171 days of war.
The resolution, which was presented by non-permanent members of the Security Council, calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stressing the urgent need to increase aid and demanding the removal of all obstacles to its delivery.
Speaking after the vote, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the US “did not agree with everything with the resolution”.
Gaza Genocide – UN Security Council Set to Vote on Ceasefire
“Certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
Today’s vote followed several attempts by the UNSC at brokering a ceasefire resolution.
Since the start of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza last October 7, Washington has used its veto power against three draft resolutions, two of which called for an immediate ceasefire.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,333 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,694 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(The Palestine Chronicle)
