PM Netanyahu Once Said That International Pressure Had No Effect, Israel Asked to Reschedule the Meeting with the US

PM Netanyahu chaired the Israeli War Cabinet meeting. (Source: GPO/Kobi Gideon)

JAKARTA - Israel has asked the White House to reschedule a high-level meeting on military plans in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that was abruptly canceled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, officials said on Wednesday, in an apparent attempt to ease tensions between the two allies. .

PM Netanyahu canceled a planned visit by a senior Israeli delegation to Washington, after the US allowed passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN on Monday, marking a new low in his wartime relations with President Joe Biden.

The postponement of the meeting this week represents a new obstacle to efforts by Washington, concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to get {M Netanyahu to consider alternatives to a ground invasion of Rafah.

On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: "The prime minister's office has agreed to reschedule the meeting dedicated" to Rafah.

"So we are now working with them to set an appropriate date," he added, as reported by Reuters, March 28.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a new meeting was being arranged and said PM Netanyahu was considering sending his delegation as early as next week.

The Israeli team will still be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, two of PM Netanyahu's confidants, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The talks are expected to focus on the threat of an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than a million Palestinian refugees have taken refuge.

There was no immediate comment from PM Netanyahu's office.

Previously, the decision by US President Joe Biden's administration to abstain from voting on UNSC Resolution 2728 demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza earlier this week, which came after months of the US adhering to the long-term US policy of protecting Israel at the world body, appeared to reflect the increasingly the extent of US frustration with the Israeli leader.

PM Netanyahu issued a sharp rebuke, calling the US action a "clear retreat" from previous positions, which would harm Israel's war effort and negotiations to free more than 130 hostages still being held in Gaza.

US officials said at the time that President Biden's administration was confused by Netanyahu's decision and considered it an overreaction, and insisted that there had been no change in policy.

Yesterday, PM Netanyahu said the cancellation of a planned visit to Washington by his aides this week was intended to show Hamas that Israel would not bow to growing international pressure to stop the war in Gaza.

"This is first and foremost a message to Hamas: 'Don't bet on this pressure, it won't work,'" he said in comments recorded on video at a meeting with US Senator Rick Scott.