Israel cancels scheduled delegation visit to Washington after U.S. refuses to veto UN Security Council ceasefire resolution

By lauraharris // 2024-03-28

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Israel has canceled the scheduled visit of a delegation to Washington, D.C. after the United States refused to veto the passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. UNSC Resolution 2728, adopted on March 25, with 14 out of 15 Security Council members voting in favor, demands an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war for the month of Ramadan that will lead to a lasting peace, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and "the urgent need to expand the flow" of aid into Gaza. The proposal was submitted by the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, including Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Korea and Switzerland. (Related: New U.S.-backed United Nations resolution calls for "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.) The U.S. has vetoed similar resolutions in the past, including one submitted for voting just 11 days after the conflict began on Oct. 18 calling for "humanitarian pauses" to the conflict. On Dec. 8, the U.S. vetoed another ceasefire resolution introduced by the United Arab Emirates calling for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" alongside a demand for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages" and "ensuring humanitarian access" into Gaza. On Feb. 20, the U.S. vetoed another resolution. But for UNSC Resolution 2728, the administration of President Joe Biden chose instead to abstain from the resolution, choosing not to use its veto power following the passage of certain amendments to the resolution. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that a failure to implement the resolution would be "unforgivable."

"The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable," Guterres wrote on X.

In response to the resolution's passage, Israel canceled the scheduled visit of a delegation to Washington, D.C. The delegation was supposed to be made up of National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister of Strategic Affairs and former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, who is also a close adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The delegation was meant to discuss a planned military offensive into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians are now sheltered seeking refuge from the violence. The Israeli national security delegation was also supposed to hear U.S. alternatives to the planned offensive.

Furthermore, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz publicly declared that the country will be ignoring the UNSC resolution. "The State of Israel will not cease fire," Katz said. "We will destroy Hamas and continue to fight until the last of the hostages returns home."

U.S. was torn between supporting and vetoing the resolution but ended up abstaining

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield explained that while the resolution did incorporate edits requested by Washington, the U.S. still could not fully support it because it "did not agree with everything" written down in the resolution.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the statement and believed the final copy of the resolution aligned with U.S. policy. However, Blinken also noted that it does not condemn Hamas' action during the Oct. 7 attack.

"Because the final text does not have key language we view as essential, notably a condemnation of Hamas, we could not support it. This failure to condemn Hamas is particularly difficult to understand coming days after the world once again witnessed the horrific acts terrorist groups commit," Blinken said.

Meanwhile, another source claims that the U.S. originally planned to veto the Security Council resolution, but due to intensive diplomatic efforts, the Biden administration was forced to abstain.

Visit WWIII.news for more stories related to the conflict in Gaza. Watch this clip showing Israel's 11th consecutive day of shelling in the Gaza Strip. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

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U.S. was torn between supporting and vetoing the resolution but ended up abstaining

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