Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently canceled a delegation of senior aides set to visit Washington this week after the U.S. did not use its UN Security Council veto to strike down a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel conflict via Mediaite.
The planned trip by Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to meet with Biden administration officials to discuss ways to increase aid into Gaza and prevent a full-scale assault on Rafah, the southern Gazan area now home to countless refugees and thought to be the location of the remaining hostages, had previously been threatened by Netanyahu’s office.
Hours after Netanyahu’s ultimatum, the UN Security Council approved the resolution; the US abstained during the vote. Netanyahu’s remarks, according to independent journalist Noga Tarnopolsky, “directly misrepresents” the UN resolution, which demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages held by Hamas.
Netanyahu’s office asserts that “the US informed Minister Dermer that they intend to pass two separate resolutions in the Security Council today – one calling for a ceasefire and the second for the release of hostages, with no link between the two.” Local reporter Amichai Stein, a diplomatic correspondent for Kann, pointed this out.
Following Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) call earlier this month for new Israeli elections to remove Netanyahu from office, there has been an increase in hostilities between the Israeli leader and the top leadership in the United States, which is why Netanyahu canceled the Israeli delegation to Washington.
Last Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) informed reporters that he was thinking about asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress.
“I had a lengthy conversation this morning with Prime Minister Netanyahu and reiterated to him that House Republicans’ strong support for Israel and their efforts there, and expressed my strong disagreement with Leader Schumer about what he said last week,” Johnson told reporters.
https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky/status/1772305180303733186
#BREAKING: PM Netanyahu threatens: If the US does not veto the resolution for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council, Israel will cancel the Israeli delegation departure to Washington.
PM office claims: The US informed Minister Dermer that they intend to pass two separate…
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 25, 2024
