From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 25, 2024
PM says he’ll call off senior aides’ trip to DC if US doesn’t veto UNSC Gaza resolution
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will call off the visit of his senior aides to Washington DC this week if the US does not use its veto to block a UN Security Council resolution today calling for a ceasefire that is not conditioned on a release of the hostages held by Hamas, his office says.
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer are set to fly to the US capital to hear American proposals for expanded humanitarian aid in Gaza and alternatives to a major land operation in Rafah.
The trip was planned at the request of US President Joe Biden after his call with Netanyahu last week, their first in a month.
Netanyahu’s threat to cancel the trip comes after Dermer was informed early this morning by the Biden Administration that the US would support two separate UN resolutions, one calling for a ceasefire and one for the release of the Hamas hostages, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The ceasefire call would not be conditioned on the release of hostages.
