“We are perplexed”
USA irritated by Israel’s rejection
March 25, 2024, 11:07 p.m
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A high-level delegation from Israel was scheduled to travel to the United States today to discuss alternatives to a Rafah offensive. After the UN Security Council ceasefire resolution, Netanyahu canceled the visit at short notice. Apparently people in Washington didn’t expect this.
The US government is irritated by the cancellation of a visit to Washington by a high-ranking Israeli delegation. “I have to tell you, (…), we are quite perplexed,” said the National Security Council’s communications director, John Kirby, at the White House, referring to the cancellation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kirby said the prime minister’s office seemed to indicate through its public statements that the U.S. side had changed course toward Israel. “We do not have that.” It also seems as if the Prime Minister’s Office wants to give the impression that there are differences when there is no need for that.
At the same time, Kirby rejected various questions about whether the relationship between Israel and the USA – and specifically between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden – had reached a new low. That is not the case. “Of course we still support Israel,” he emphasized. “Israel remains a close ally and a friend.” However, he added: “That doesn’t mean we agree on everything, and my goodness, we don’t.” As friends, both sides could talk openly about their differences of opinion.
When asked, Kirby said Biden and Netanyahu had not spoken to each other today. He also didn’t know when they would next talk on the phone. Israel’s military actions in the Gaza war are increasingly putting strain on the relationship between the two. Netanyahu’s cancellation of the trip shows this once again in an unusual way.
UN Security Council calls for hostage release and ceasefire
On Monday, the UN Security Council issued a resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip for the first time. In addition, the most powerful body in the United Nations is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. The USA, the veto power, abstained, thereby enabling the resolution to be adopted. Netanyahu reacted immediately after the vote and canceled a planned trip to Washington by an Israeli delegation – originally requested by the US side – at short notice.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Zachi Hanegbi were scheduled to fly to the United States on Monday to meet with senior government officials. They wanted to present the Israeli guests with alternatives to a ground offensive planned by Israel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The US government vehemently rejects this invasion.
Kirby said there were no signs “that the Israelis are immediately preparing to conduct a ground operation in Rafah” and that this could happen in the coming days. “It seems that they are still far from entering Rafah.”