[Salon] Israel cancels diplomatic visit to U.S. after U.N. vote demanding cease-fire

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/25/israel-hamas-war-news-gaza-palestine/?location=alert

Israel cancels diplomatic visit to U.S. after U.N. vote demanding cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday canceled a trip to Washington by an Israeli delegation of top officials after the United Nations Security Council passed its first resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire. The United States abstained, allowing it to pass. The resolution, backed by 14 nations including China and Russia, demands an immediate cease-fire during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the release of all hostages. Four previous cease-fire resolutions had failed, including one proposed by the United States on Friday.

“In light of the change in the American position, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that the delegation will not travel to the U.S.,” the office of Israel’s prime minister said in a statement. The delegation had been set to include Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the abstention did not represent a “change in policy” for President Biden. “There is no reason for this to be seen as some sort of escalation,” he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington this week, part of a separate delegation from the one that was canceled, as the Biden administration presses Israel not to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Vice President Harris told ABC’s “This Week” that such an offensive “would be a huge mistake.”

Harris said consequences for such an attack, on an area where more than a million people are sheltering, had not been ruled out. Netanyahu repeated his insistence Sunday that a military operation in Rafah is needed to eliminate Hamas.

Israel said Monday that its forces have apprehended at least 500 suspects in a week-long raid at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital and located “a large amount of weapons” there. Global health officials have expressed alarm over the raid on the hospital, where basic services have only recently been restored after a November raid.

At least 32,333 people have been killed and 74,694 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 252 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.

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