Israel cancels Rafah talks in US following UNSC abstention

News Desk - The Cradle

The Israeli Prime Minister said that the US departed from its 'principled policy' at the UN by not vetoing a ceasefire resolution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled on 25 March his senior advisor’s trip to Washington for talks on a possible invasion of Rafah. The move came in response to the US decision the same day to abstain from voting to adopt a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza. The US abstention allowed the resolution to pass, while Israel had expected the US to exercise its veto.

Netanyahu's office announced in a social media post on X that “the United States has abandoned its policy in the UN today. Just a few days ago, it supported a Security Council resolution that linked a call for a ceasefire to the release of hostages."

Netanyahu recalled that the resolution put forth by the US on Friday was vetoed by China and Russia, in part because “they opposed a ceasefire that was linked to the release of hostages." However, the two superpowers joined Algeria and others in supporting Monday's resolution as it does not include the release of captives held by either Israel or Hamas as a condition for the ceasefire.

“Regrettably, the United States did not veto the new resolution, which calls for a ceasefire that is not contingent on the release of hostages,” the Israeli prime minister said. “This constitutes a clear departure from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.”

On 7 October, Hamas took some 230 Israeli soldiers, civilians and foreigners captive. Israel has long held thousands of Palestinians captive in its prisons.

The prime minister’s statement said that the ceasefire resolution gives assurance to Hamas that international pressure on Israel will force its hand to accept a ceasefire without the release of the Israeli captives.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear last night that should the US depart from its principled policy and not veto this harmful resolution, he will cancel the Israeli delegation's visit to the United States," the post read.

Monday's UNSC resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza passed with 14 votes for the motion, zero against, and one abstention (US).

“The resolution is a bare-bones call for a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan,” the UN report read. “It also demands the return of about 130 hostages seized in Israel and held in Gaza and emphasizes the urgent need to allow ample lifesaving aid to reach a starving [Palestinian] population in the besieged enclave.”

At the start of the war, Israel cut off all food, water, and electricity to Gaza in an effort to starve Palestinians as punishment for the Hamas attack. Israel has allowed just small amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza since that time, while regularly opening fire and killing starving Palestinians seeking to collect it.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that the approved resolution included points requested by the US, but ultimately Washington did not vote yes because "it did not agree with everything."