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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 18, 2024.
Israel is blaming the US for stalled talks with Hamas, in yet another sign of the increasingly tense state of relations between Washington and the Jewish State amid the war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the US refusing to block a UN Security Council resolution for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza was a “very, very bad move” that “encouraged Hamas to take a hard line” in negotiations over a truce and hostage release. The Israeli leader also canceled a delegation to the White House planned for this week in response, though he's since reversed course and agreed to reschedule the meeting.
Israel’s top diplomat, Israel Katz, said the US refusing to veto the resolution sent a message “to anyone on Hamas’s side that the US does not support Israel as much.” A US State Department spokesperson dismissed Katz’s comments as “inaccurate in every respect.” The White House this week said it’s perplexed by Netanyahu’s behavior, particularly given the UNSC cease-fire resolution is effectively symbolic.
The rift between the White House and Netanyahu comes as President Joe Biden faces growing domestic criticism over Washington’s support for Israel with an election on the horizon. Netanyahu’s refusal to abandon plans to invade Rafah, a Gazan city where over a million Palestinians are sheltering, is also at the heart of the escalating dispute.
Meanwhile, Bibi is struggling to keep together a fragile governing coalition. Far-right politicians want Bibi to take an even more aggressive approach in Gaza. Disagreements over conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men are also causing strain.
Along these lines, Netanyahu seems positioned to shift blame on the US for holding up the Rafah offensive and roadblocks in the hostage talks. But he risks alienating Israel’s most important ally in the process.