Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the Washington meetings on Rafah led to a fresh rift with Biden

(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the delegation’s planned visit to Washington on Monday — a trip that President Joe Biden had personally requested a week ago in hopes of offering a constructive approach — represents another low point in the ever-widening gap that separates the two. . statistics

Netanyahu threatened to suspend the delegation’s trip if the United States did not veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday. When the US Absent from the vote, thereby allowing the measure to pass, the Israeli prime minister took action and canceled meetings that already posed a political threat to Biden.

US officials planned to offer the Israeli delegation a set of alternatives to pursue Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, hoping to avert what the US sees as a humanitarian disaster if Israel launches a full-scale ground offensive.

Those options will continue to be shared, US officials said, including talks earlier this week between Biden’s top advisers and Israel’s defense minister. But the public suspension of face-to-face talks was a clear example of what has become an increasingly tense dynamic between Israel and its key ally.

Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech in Jerusalem on March 17. Leo Correa/AP

US officials said they were surprised by Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the delegation’s trip, after the United States approved the passage of a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Inside the White House, the move was seen as an overreaction that largely reflected Netanyahu’s own domestic political concerns, according to the US official. Hours after the delegation’s visit was cancelled, Israeli Minister Gideon Sa’ar resigned from the current government, not joining the war cabinet.

Netanyahu did not directly communicate with Biden about his decision, while Biden has no plans to call Netanyahu to discuss the matter, the official said.

The talks in Washington were expected to come at a critical time, not only because of the course of the conflict but also to gauge Washington’s influence over its allies. Biden’s patience with Netanyahu has worn thin, and even as the United States continues to provide crucial military and diplomatic support, his ability to sway Israel’s resolve is waning.

In the United States, calls to end the fighting have crossed political lines. Former President Donald Trump, Biden’s rival in the presidential race, also said in an interview over the weekend that it was time for Israel to “end its war” and “come to peace.”

Now, Biden finds himself in a delicate position. If the Israeli prime minister rejects his team’s options—as Netanyahu has indicated he will, even before this week’s meetings collapse—the president may be forced to decide whether to make his frustrations more public. and potentially reduce staunch American support.

Division at Rafah

Over the weekend, the United States remained in constant contact with Israel to discuss a UN Security Council resolution for a cease-fire, and made it clear in those talks that Washington’s position had not changed: a cease-fire. The firing must be accompanied by the release of the hostages. .

That prompted U.S. officials to view Netanyahu’s comments Monday that the United States had changed its position as strange and outlandish, the official said. Biden’s aides felt that the prime minister had unnecessarily chosen to presuppose an agreement between the United States and Israel.

President Joe Biden in Las Vegas on March 19, 2024. Kevin Lamarck/Reuters

For more than a month, White House officials have watched with growing concern as Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, have signaled their intention to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah, which they say is Hamas’ last major stronghold.

Such a campaign would result in a humanitarian disaster, US officials have warned, as Israel builds a credible plan to protect the 1.4 million Palestinian civilians sheltering there, many of whom fled from other parts of Gaza.

Yet, despite such stern warnings from Israeli officials, the US has assumed for weeks that Israel was, in fact, nowhere near expanding its military operations in southern Gaza. The start of Ramadan — a deadline some members of Netanyahu’s government warned would trigger the next phase of the war — came and went without any change in the conflict.

“We are weeks away from being ready,” a senior US official said on the eve of the Muslim holy month.

Pressure is mounting on America and Israel

With Ramadan ending in about two weeks, the pressure is mounting. But while US officials continue to insist that Washington must first look at a plan that ensures the safety of civilians, they also express doubts about whether such a plan is feasible.

They starkly show the reality that many civilians from the enclave have nowhere to go, as much of Gaza has been destroyed – and depopulated – by Israeli bombardment. And if such an unlikely plan exists, no White House official has yet seen it.

“I’ve seen the maps, I’ve studied the maps, there’s nowhere for those people to go,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said late last week.

Later, in an interview, Harris refused to rule out consequences for Israel if it went ahead with its plans in Rafah.

“I’m not ruling anything out,” he told the ABC.

Indeed, Biden’s advisers are evaluating various options for how to respond should the Rafah operation take place. Officials declined to give details, but the president is under increasing pressure from Democratic lawmakers to begin conditioning military aid to Israel on its humanitarian efforts and to take diplomatic steps that would signal disapproval.

In their meetings this week, American officials planned to press the Israeli delegation to adopt a more targeted military operation focused on high-value Hamas targets hiding in Rafah, people familiar with the matter said.

A more targeted approach could be combined with efforts to better secure the border between Egypt and Gaza, to curb Hamas’s ability to smuggle weapons into the enclave – where Rafah is located.

Aside from the more than a million civilians sheltering there, US officials have also expressed fears that the assault on Rafah could prevent much-needed humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. The city is the main land crossing for trucks carrying aid from Egypt. There are also concerns that an operation in Rafah could sever Israel’s ties with Egypt.

The US has sent a warning to Netanyahu

Biden administration officials have warned Israel that it risks becoming an international pariah if the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens or persists for long.

When Biden proposed this week’s meetings during a phone call with Netanyahu last Monday, the idea came as a surprise to the Israelis, people familiar with the matter said.

“You want a strategy that works,” Biden told Netanyahu in their first conversation in more than a month. “And that strategy must not include a large-scale military operation that threatens thousands and thousands of lives (civilians, innocent lives) in Rafah.”

“Send your team to Washington. Let’s talk about it,” Biden told Netanyahu, according to Biden’s top national security adviser. “We’ll show you what we think is a better way.”

Inside the White House, the move was seen as a way to signal Washington’s intention to find a constructive approach to shaping Israel’s war plans.

However, before the meeting, Netanyahu cast doubt on options short of an all-out ground offensive, insisting that it was the only way to rid the enclave of Hamas operatives.

“We have no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah,” Netanyahu said late last week after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I told them that I hope we can do this with the support of the United States, but if necessary we will do it alone.”

Blinken left the Middle East on Friday with no commitment to increase the amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza or scale back plans for an offensive in Rafah.

At the same time, Netanyahu has indicated that such an operation is unlikely to begin soon, giving the United States a window to intervene and continue negotiations to secure a ceasefire in the fighting in exchange for the hostages’ release.

Those talks appeared to be moving forward, as Israel and Hamas grappled with key differences, such as the proportion of Palestinian hostages and prisoners who would be released as part of the deal.

U.S. officials believe that if Israel begins its offensive in Rafah, the hostage negotiations will fail, adding more urgency to its list of options.