Netanyahu cancels Israeli delegation to U.S. over UN Gaza vote

[Pelican Press 0]

Netanyahu cancels ******** delegation to U.S. over UN Gaza vote

******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major ********* ******* Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between ******* and the ************ Islamist group ******, in Jerusalem, February 18, 2024. 

Ronen Zvulun | Reuters

******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he will not send a delegation as planned to Washington after the ******* States refrained from vetoing a U.N. Security Council proposal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office, said that Washington’s ******** to block the proposal was a “clear retreat” from its previous position, and would hurt war efforts against ******, as well as efforts to release over 130 hostages in Gaza captivity.

“In light of the change in the ********* position, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided the delegation would not leave,” his office said.

The U.N. Security Council voted to demand an immediate ceasefire between ******* and ************ Islamist group ****** and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The ******* States abstained from the vote.

The White House denied that the U.S. abstention reflected a change in ********* policy.

The high-level delegation was due to travel to Washington to discuss a planned ******** military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are taking shelter.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby fielded queries about *******’s decision to pull out of the meeting this week just as Netanyahu was announcing it.

Kirby said the decision was unfortunate but that the ******* States would bring up its concerns about *******’s policies as part of ongoing discussions between the two governments.

“It’s disappointing. We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington DC to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to them going in on the ground in Rafah.”

“Nothing has changed about our view that a major ground offensive in Rafah would be a major mistake,” Kirby said.

He said discussions between visiting ******** Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others would cover the same points that the U.S. team had planned to raise with the delegation.

In *******, parliamentary opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of trying to divert attention away from a rift in his coalition over a military conscription bill at the expense of ties with the ******* States.

“It’s shocking irresponsibility from a prime minister who has lost it,” Lapid wrote on social media platform X.

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