Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled Monday a planned trip to Washington by his senior aides Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi after the United States abstained in a United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution that was passed.
The UNSC demanded a ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, its first demand to halt fighting.
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The US abstained on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. But the measure does not link that demand to the ceasefire during Ramadan, which ends April 9.
Video: Hamas operative admits to Israeli hostages being held and Hamas terrorists hiding behind civilians in Nasser Hospital / Credit: X/@IDF
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a US-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported "an immediate and sustained ceasefire" in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution approved on Monday could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the US, Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
Because Ramadan ends next month, the ceasefire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead "to a permanent sustainable ceasefire."
The United States has vetoed three resolutions demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, the most recent an Arab-backed measure on Feb. 20. Russia and China vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in late October calling for pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, the protection of civilians and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it did not reflect global calls for a ceasefire.
They again vetoed the US resolution Friday, calling it ambiguous and saying it was not the direct demand to end the fighting that much of the world seeks.
In previous resolutions, the US has closely intertwined calls for a ceasefire with demands for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. This resolution, using wording that's open to interpretation, continued to link the two issues, but not as firmly.
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