Israel cancels DC trip after US allows Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN

The Israeli government called off a US trip by senior officials after the Biden administration decided not to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a decision reflecting a shift of approach by Washington.

Fourteen of 15 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution, which was jointly proposed on Monday by the 10 elected members of the council. The US abstained, citing the measure’s failure to explicitly condemn Hamas for its October 7 attack on Israel.

The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had demanded a US veto of the resolution, and said it would “suspend” the visit by two of his top aides to Washington in response.

Monday’s resolution marks the first time the Security Council has openly endorsed a ceasefire since Israel began its campaign to wipe out Hamas after the attack by the militant group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.

Meanwhile, China on Monday said it has supported a fresh draft resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza, following its veto, along with Russia's, on the earlier text proposed by the USChina's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China supports the draft resolution and commends the Arab countries for their hard work regarding the same, AFP reported. The minister said that they were hoping the UN Security Council would pass it at the earliest and send a strong signal for the cessation of hostilities.

Until now, President Joe Biden’s administration had blocked multiple resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the almost six months since the Israel-Hamas war began. The US has long been steadfast in championing Israel at the UN, voting against dozens of resolutions seen as going against its ally’s interests.

The last time the US openly defied Israel’s position in a major UN debate came in 2016, when the Obama administration abstained on a Security Council resolution that called Israeli settlements illegal and demanded a halt to their expansion.

The text that was adopted Monday demands “an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan,” which started March 10, and contends that should lead to a “lasting” and “sustainable” ceasefire. It also calls for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” but doesn’t call that a requirement for a ceasefire.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the US failure to veto the resolution “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will force Israel to accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages, thus harming both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages.”

Without condemning Hamas by name, the resolution deplores “all violence and hostilities against civilians, and all acts of terrorism,” adding that the “taking of hostages is prohibited under international law.”

Samuel Žbogar, the Slovenian envoy to the UN and one of the co-authors of the text, called it “a small step in rebuilding trust” at the Security Council. “We will need more of this unity for Gaza as well as for many other conflicts,” Žbogar said.

After the action at the UN, Netanyahu’s office called off a US visit by Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. They were due to leave Monday evening for meetings with Biden administration officials on Israel’s planned invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and ways to greatly increase humanitarian aid to the embattled area.

“There’s no reason for this to be seen as some sort of escalation,” John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters after the UN vote. “Nothing has changed about our policy, nothing. We still want to see a ceasefire. We still want to get hostages out.”

Kirby added that the US is “very disappointed” the Israeli delegation won’t be visiting Washington “to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in on the ground in Rafah.”

The Biden administration was perplexed by Israel’s backlash to the US abstention at the UN, according to a US official, who described Netanyahu’s response as a total overreaction. The official said the US stance at the UN didn’t mark a major change in US policy toward the war and suggested Israel’s reaction may have been the result of domestic political pressures. Netanyahu didn’t call Biden ahead of time to inform the president of his decision, according to the official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did visit Washington on Monday to meet with officials including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House. Commenting on the UN vote, Gallant said “we have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza. The lack of a decisive victory in Gaza may bring us closer to a war in the north.”

The US had hinted at its evolving position at the UN on Friday, when it proposed a resolution that cited “the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire” — while not openly calling for one. Russia and China vetoed that text, alleging it was still too weak and one-sided toward Israel.

Netanyahu told visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday that Israel would go ahead with that invasion even without US support because taking apart the remaining Hamas battalions there is necessary to destroy its military and governing structure.

The US and other governments have been urging Israel to hold off on any Rafah attack because more than 1 million Palestinians are taking shelter there. At the same time, talks are underway in Qatar for a possible exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners as part of a six-week ceasefire.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Netanyahu Sunday any forced transfer of people out of Rafah would be a war crime, and said his country intends to propose its own Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The French text would be complementary to Monday’s resolution and would offer a framework for the post-war reconstruction of the strip.