by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off the scheduled visit to Washington by a delegation headed by his senior aides Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi following the US’s decision not to use its veto against a UN Security Council resolution, supported by Russia and China, which demanded a ceasefire without making it contingent with the release of hostages held by Hamas.
“The US today did not veto the new draft that calls for a ceasefire without conditioning it on the release of the hostages,” according to a statement released by Netanyahu’s office.
The statement describes the decision as “a clear withdrawal from the USA’s consistent position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.”
Netanyahu’s office stated that the resolution will “impede the war effort” because it gives hope that “international pressure will allow them [Hamas] to receive a ceasefire without releasing our hostages.”
Following the U.N. resolution, Netanyahu’s office announced that due to the U.S. change of its position, it would not dispatch an Israeli delegation to the United States.
The Israeli delegation was set to finalize plans for a military operation in Rafah, recognized as Hamas’s final stronghold, where four battalions of its terrorists are operating behind a million civilian human shields.
Hostages In Captivity
Israel reported that on October 7, Hamas abducted 253 Israelis and foreigners. Since then, 112 individuals have been released. This release tally includes an early agreement freeing 78 Israeli women and children, five Israelis released in October, three Russian Israelis, and 24 hostages from Thailand and the Philippines.
Israel estimates that approximately 130 hostages remain in captivity by Hamas, among them five Americans.
Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, openly seeks to destroy Israel in its entirety and replace it with a Palestinian-Islamic state. The 1988 Hamas charter begins with the declaration, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it,” citing Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.
While the world believes Israel and Hamas can coexist, Article 13 of its charter states, “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad.”
Division in Israel’s War Cabinet
Following the UN Security Council’s recent decision and the subsequent scrapping of the U.S. delegation’s trip, Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz released a statement: “The State of Israel has a moral obligation to continue fighting until the abductees are returned and the threat of Hamas is removed and that is what we will do. The Security Council’s decision has no operational significance for us, and in any case, we will continue to listen to our friendships, and we will always do what is right for Israel’s security… It is good that the Defense Minister is now in the US, and will discuss with senior administration officials the political and security issues at hand and our need to continue fighting. Not only is it right for the delegation to travel – the Prime Minister would do well if he himself traveled to the USA, and held a direct dialogue with President Biden and the senior administration officials. This is true routinely, and it is certainly true now, when the weight of US support for Israel is so critical.”
In response, the Netanyahu’s Office released a statement: “After Hamas welcomed the Security Council’s decision that passed with the US abstaining, Benny Gantz is proposing tonight to send a delegation to the US. Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected his proposal.”
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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