U.S. and Israeli relations suffered a huge blow on Monday when the United States chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution regarding the war in Gaza, resulting in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrapping plans to send a delegation to Washington, D.C. This resolution, which every other country on the Security Council voted in favor of, called for "An immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire," according to a release from the U.N.'s news site.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said America did not "Agree with everything in the resolution and for that reason we were unfortunately not able to vote yes." The U.S. wanted a "Condemnation of Hamas" included in the text that was not included, she said, noting that it does support some of the objectives of it.
The prime minister's office has decided to call off the delegation's visit because the U.S. did not use its veto power on the resolution.
U.S. National Security Council coordinator John Kirby responded to the news and said, "We're very disappointed."
National security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer were set to travel to Washington this week as Israel plans to pursue full-scale military operations in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge from the war.
They ultimately vetoed the U.S.-backed proposed resolution that linked the ceasefire to a hostage deal and a condemnation of Hamas, the terrorist organization whose attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompted the war.
"Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed," Thomas-Greenfield said after last Friday's vote, "Even after inclusive consultations over weeks and weeks, even after negotiations and edits produced the draft that received overwhelming Council support."
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