‘Standing up to the US makes Israel look stronger’ — senior Israeli official

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was aware and not concerned that calling off an Israeli delegation’s trip to the US this week would further strain already tense relations between Washington and Jerusalem, Channel 12 reports.

“This conflict with the US doesn’t make Israel look weaker, it shows strength. The world, and in particular our enemies, can see that Israel knows how to stand up to pressure, even at the cost of conflict with our best friend,” Channel 12 quotes a senior Israeli official as saying.

Netanyahu canceled a planned trip to Washington by his top aides to discuss plans for an offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah today after the US refrained from vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire without conditioning it on the release of hostages held by Hamas since October 7.

Channel 12 adds that Netanyahu’s office informed the Biden administration last night that it would call off the delegation’s trip to Washington, DC, this week if the US did not use its veto in the ceasefire vote.

Netanyahu’s announcement that he was canceling the trip came to the apparent surprise of US officials.