Coldness in US-Israel relations, how big a blow for Israel?

Allowing the United States to pass the Gaza ceasefire resolution in the Security Council is a sign of a clear change in American policy.

Not only did the US not veto the resolution in the Security Council on Monday, but earlier it itself introduced a resolution calling for an ‘immediate and lasting ceasefire’.

On Monday, the US abstained from voting on the resolution, which called for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza for the remaining two weeks of Ramadan and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”. .

14 other members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, including Britain, which is America’s closest ally and side with the United States in foreign policy.

This is the first time since the October 2023 Israeli-imposed war on Gaza that the US has been pushing for a cease-fire.

However, the United States has previously vetoed three resolutions presented in the same Security Council regarding ceasefire.

In response, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said, “It is regrettable that the United States did not veto the new resolution, which calls for a cease-fire that includes the release of the hostages.” does not depend on.’

The statement said it was “a clear departure from the US position.”

Reacting quickly to the US decision not to veto the resolution, Netanyahu has canceled a scheduled visit to the US by an Israeli delegation.

Netanyahu had threatened several days ago that if the United States did not support him in the Security Council, he would cancel the visit.

During the trip, Israeli and US officials were to meet in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to discuss Israel’s proposed offensive. Rafah is the city where about 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge after fleeing from other areas of Gaza.

A major reason for the recent strain in Israel-US relations is Israel’s plan to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Israel has largely destroyed other parts of Gaza with heavy bombardment over the past six months, rendering it uninhabitable. This is the reason why the residents of these areas have been forced to take refuge in Rafah.

But now with the attack on Rafah, these people will not have any other shelter.

US Vice President Kamala Harris said in an interview with an American channel last week, “I’ve seen the maps, these people have nowhere else to live.”

According to a CNN report, President Joe Biden is under pressure from his Democratic Party to make military aid to Israel conditional on humanitarian aid and to take diplomatic steps that show the United States does not support Israeli aggression. would do

US officials say they will urge Israel to conduct only surgical strikes against the Hamas leadership, not large-scale military operations that target innocent civilians.

However, Netanyahu insists that military action inside Rafah is inevitable.

“We have no way of defeating Hamas without entering Rafah,” he said after meeting US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken last week.

He said, “I hope we will do it with American support, but if necessary, we will do it alone.”

Previously, US President Joe Biden has seen an increase in pressure on Israel and he also presented a plan to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in his State of the Union address on March 7.

He said in his speech that ‘Israel’s primary responsibility is to protect the innocent victims in Gaza.’

The United States has historically been a staunch supporter of Israel and has provided military, financial and diplomatic aid to Israel for decades.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, since Israel’s independence, the United States has given it three billion dollars in aid.

Even during the Israeli attack in Gaza, the United States accelerated the supply of military equipment to it.

Veto power

Historically, the United States has used its veto power in the United Nations to veto 45 of the 89 Security Council resolutions that criticized Israel. 33 of these vetoed resolutions were related to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

However, after the international concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the policy seems to be changing in the United States.

The Role of American Elections

But a major reason for this change is also internal. Only 20 percent of voters in America under the age of 30 support President Biden’s support for Israel.

Since the beginning of this conflict, the support of President Biden by the Arabs living in the United States has decreased by 42 percent.

But not only President Biden, many other prominent figures and top US officials have also questioned Israel’s approach to the Gaza crisis.

Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview with an Israeli newspaper yesterday that he had seen bombs falling on residential buildings in Gaza every night and that this was a ‘huge mistake’. Is.

While giving an interview to the newspaper called ‘Israel Hum’, he said that ‘we have to move towards peace, this situation cannot continue for long. I say Israel has to be very careful, because you are losing the support of a large part of the world.’

It should be remembered that President Trump is the person who made the unpopular decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem against the American position, which no American president could do before him.

In addition, Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish, last month strongly criticized the Israeli leadership, calling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu ‘a major obstacle to peace’.

This is a clear new turn in American foreign policy.

Netanyahu has little choice

Not only America, but Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policies are also being criticized within the country.

Israel’s opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid has termed the cancellation of the Israeli delegation’s visit to America as ‘unnecessary’ and ‘irresponsible’.

“This is a bad move for Israel, bad for security, bad for the economy,” he wrote on X.

Netanyahu faces several internal challenges. He heads a coalition government with a slim majority. On the one hand, there is a demand from the members of the hard right wing in the government coalition to take a tough stance against the Palestinians, on the other hand, Netanyahu is also facing questions from the families of the hostages, for whose release he has repeatedly protested. are doing

This is the reason why Netanyahu is taking a hardline stance on the Gaza issue, but with each passing day of the ongoing war in Gaza, he is under increasing pressure due to growing international isolation.

On the other hand, after losing the support of his biggest global backer, the United States, Netanyahu has little recourse.

If they take action inside Rafah despite the opposition of the United States and do not call for a ceasefire contrary to the Security Council resolution, the gap between the United States and Israel will continue to widen.

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