Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a delegation visit to Washington, D.C., after the United Nations Security Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The resolution calls for the immediate cease-fire in Gaza during Ramadan and the immediate, unconditional release of the hostages being held captive by Hamas. The U.S. chose to abstain instead of vetoing the resolution, and all other member nations voted in favor.
“The United States has abandoned its policy in the UN today. Just a few days ago, it supported a Security Council resolution that linked a call for a ceasefire to the release of hostages,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.
“China and Russia vetoed that resolution partly because they opposed a ceasefire that was linked to the release of hostages. Yet today, Russia and China joined Algeria and others in supporting the new resolution precisely because it had no such linkage.”
Israeli and U.S. officials were set to discuss the Biden administration’s concern with Israel’s plans to send forces into Rafah, a city in Gaza on the Egyptian border, to continue the war against Hamas. Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke out against the planned Rafah attack last week and urged Israel to consider alternative methods for defeating Hamas.
Likewise, Vice President Kamala Harris warned of “consequences” for Israel if it moves forward with its plan to attack Rafah.
“We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” Harris told ABC News in an interview that aired on Sunday. “Let me tell you something: I have studied the maps. There’s nowhere for those folks to go.”
The resolution passing marks the first time the security council has passed a cease-fire resolution since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7 because of Hamas’s mass slaughter of innocent civilians from Israel and nations around the world. The resolution does not appear to link the ceasefire to the hostage release and does not condemn Hamas directly.
“Your demand for a ceasefire without conditioning it on the release of the hostages, not only is not helpful, but it undermines, undermines the efforts to secure their release,” said Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. Hamas is believed to be holding 130 hostages captive and many of them are Israeli citizens or dual nationals.
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” he added. Guterres also called for a “two-state solution” to end the war.
China and Russia vetoed on Friday a similar resolution proposed by the U.S. for a six-week cease-fire and a deal to release the hostages. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia and China of gamesmanship and choosing the veto the resolution because it was brokered by the U.S.
“The vast majority of this council voted in favor of this resolution, but unfortunately Russia and China decided to exercise its veto,” Thomas- Greenfield said.
“For all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian response effort,” she added.
The U.S. could not support the resolution because Washington did not agree with all the changes put forward by the member nations, Thomas-Greenfield said on Monday after the vote. But she did come out in favor of the “critical objectives” laid out in the resolution.
“Our vote does not — and I repeat that, does not — represent a shift in our policy,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby. “We’ve been clear and we’ve been consistent in our support for a cease-fire as part of a hostage deal.”