Senior officials in the Biden administration thought they had effectively communicated to Israeli counterparts during continuous discussions over the weekend regarding the potential for the United States to abstain from, rather than veto, a U.N. Security Council resolution on Monday urging an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
However, the White House was surprised by what occurred following the abstention vote. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled a visit to Washington by a high-level delegation that President Biden had specifically requested in a recent phone call to address U.S. concerns about Israel’s intentions for a significant military operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller described the cancellation as “surprising and unfortunate,” downplaying the administration’s astonishment. This unexpected turn of events has turned a growing divide between Biden and Netanyahu into a glaring public rift. Administration officials moved quickly to clarify that there had been no shift in U.S. policy, emphasizing that Israeli plans for Rafah were not imminent, ongoing negotiations for hostage release would continue, and expressing readiness for further dialogue with Netanyahu and his government.
Despite extensive consultations over the weekend and without any attempt by the Israeli leader to directly contact Biden, Netanyahu accused the United States of deviating from its U.N. policy following the vote. In a statement released by his office, he claimed that the U.S. had “abandoned its policy in the U.N. today,” by not vetoing the resolution, which called for an unconditional cease-fire. This alleged departure from the U.S. stance led to the suspension of the delegation’s trip to Washington, led by Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s senior strategic advisor.
The resolution itself, a single page in length, was crafted in an effort to bridge the gaps that had rendered the Security Council ineffective in previous attempts to halt the crisis in Gaza. The United States had previously vetoed three cease-fire resolutions and a proposal for an immediate cease-fire linked to a hostage release was vetoed by both Russia and China.
Introduced by the 10 nonpermanent members of the Security Council, the resolution aimed to address humanitarian concerns in Gaza, where the five veto-wielding countries had failed to reach a consensus. Israel raised objections to certain language in the resolution, pushing to remove the term “permanent” before the cease-fire call and insisting that a demand for the release of Israeli hostages be tied to any cessation of hostilities. The United States shared these reservations and managed to have the term “permanent” removed while combining the calls for a cease-fire and hostage release in the same paragraph.
The final version of the resolution called for an “immediate cease-fire” lasting until the conclusion of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which is two weeks away.