US-led UN ceasefire vote fails as Netanyahu remains resolute
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today as a US-sponsored resolution that called for “the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza was vetoed by the UN Security Council.
Not only was the US defeated at the UN, but Netanyahu remained obstinate in the face of Blinken’s pleas for Israel to suspend any ground invasion of Rafah.
In a video released after the meeting, the Israeli leader said: “I said that we have no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there. I told [Blinken] that I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if we have to – we will do it alone.”
Despite disagreements and Netanyahu’s stubbornness, Blinken emphasised to reporters that the US and Israel want the same things: a return of hostages and the destruction of Hamas.
Blinken told Netanyahu that any Rafah offensive “risks killing more civilians”.
He told reporters: “It risks wreaking greater havoc with the humanitarian assistance. It risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardising its long-term security and standing.”
As recently as Tuesday, Israel rejected US President Joe Biden’s plea to not go into Rafah. Blinken also on Tuesday raised the alarm over the new data from the global hunger watchdog warning of severe famine.
As for the UN vote, China, Russia and Algeria “cynically vetoed” (in Blinken’s words) the first US-led resolution to call for an immediate ceasefire. Until now, the US would only go as far as to call for a temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the release of hostages. The US has previously vetoed ceasefire resolutions put forward by China and Russia.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council 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.”
Lasting peace was on Blinken’s mind as well. He said the US was “intensely engaged” in ceasefire talks in Doha, Qatar.
Just as Thomas-Greenfield questioned the substance of Russia and China’s “fiery rhetoric”, America’s hardening stance on Israel is beginning to undermine Netanyahu’s rhetoric. A ground invasion of Rafah has been threatened since mid-February after Israel bulldozed through the enclave at speed. Netanyahu warned that it would happen by the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan if the hostages were not returned. Neither the return of hostages nor the ground invasion happened.
It would be an unprecedented move for Netanyahu to do something the US, Israel’s most important ally, is so vocally opposed to. As the world watches the humanitarian disaster unfolding, it isn’t just Biden and Blinken who are hoping Bibi’s bark is worse than his bite.
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