The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated this Wednesday that his decision to cancel the trip to Washington of an official delegation after the approval of the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was “a message ” for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
“The decision I made not to send the delegation to Washington (…) was a message to Hamas not to trust this pressure. It will not work. I hope you understand the message,” he said during a meeting with US Senator Rick Scott.
Thus, he reiterated that Washington’s decision to abstain from the UN vote “was a very, very bad step” and argued that it “encouraged Hamas to adopt a tough stance and rely on international pressure to prevent Israel from releasing hostages and destroy Hamas.
The delegation was going to travel to Washington to discuss with the United States authorities the possible military offensive against the city of Rafah (southern), after the American president, Joe Biden, asked Netanyahu to analyze the possibility of “attacking” Hamas. in the Gaza Strip without the need for “a major ground offensive” against this town, on the border with Egypt.
The resolution approved by the UN Security Council is the first text to gain support in the organization since the beginning of the conflict, after the three previous vetoes by the United States. In response, Israel has criticized Washington for its decision, which Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described as “a moral and ethical mistake” that will harm Israeli authorities in negotiations with Hamas.
The spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Mayed al Ansari, assured on Tuesday that the talks are still active in Doha and confirmed that “part” of the Israeli delegation has remained in the country, after the announcement about its withdrawal due to differences in the process of talks on a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Shortly before, the Prime Minister of Israel had stated that the Islamist group “is not interested in continuing negotiations for an agreement, which is a regrettable example of the damage caused by the decision of the (UN) Security Council”, before to criticize the “extreme demands” of the Palestinian group, which has stressed that it “sticks to its position”, including the demand for an end to the offensive and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Israel launched its offensive against the Gaza Strip in response to the attacks carried out on October 7 by Hamas, which left 1,200 dead and 240 hostages. Since then, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the enclave has reported the deaths of nearly 32,500 Palestinians, plus more than 430 due to the actions of security forces and Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.