Benjamin Netanyahu cancels Israeli delegation to US over UN Gaza vote

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

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

The White House denied that the US abstention reflected a change in American policy.

The high-level delegation was expected to travel to Washington to discuss a planned Israeli 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 Israel’s decision to pull out of the meeting this week just as Netanyahu was announcing it.

UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza after US abstains

“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 Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others would cover the same points that the US team had planned to raise with the delegation.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We believe this type of full-scale invasion would be a mistake,” adding that Blinken was likely to discuss Rafah with Gallant.

In Israel, 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 United States.

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

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse