According to what was reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday, senior officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden believe that they made clear to their Israeli counterparts in ongoing talks over the weekend (last) the possibility of the United States abstaining from voting - instead of using its veto power - on a Security Council resolution. The United Nations on Monday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

But the White House was surprised by what happened after the abstention vote: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled a high-level delegation's trip to Washington, which President Biden had specifically requested in a phone call last week, to discuss US concerns about Israeli Plans for a large-scale military operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller downplayed the administration's "shock" reaction, describing the cancellation as "surprising and unfortunate."

The remarkable turn of events has turned the growing rift between Biden and Netanyahu into a major rift. Administration officials were quick to insist that there was no change in US policy, that Israeli plans for the Rafah operation were by no means imminent, that negotiations on the hostage release would continue, and that they looked forward to future talks with Netanyahu and his government. 

Despite intense consultations at the end of last week, while US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was in Tel Aviv, and without any effort on his part to communicate with Biden directly, Netanyahu claimed in a statement issued by his office after the vote that the United States had “abandoned its policy in the United Nations.” Unfortunately, the United States did not use its veto power against the new resolution, No. 2728, which calls for a ceasefire that does not depend on the release of the hostages. The statement said that this is “a clear departure from the American position.”

The meeting scheduled to be held by Ron Dermer, Netanyahu's chief strategic advisor, in Washington this week was cancelled.

The newspaper says of Monday's Security Council resolution: “The full-page resolution was born out of an attempt to bridge differences that made the Security Council - the world's main body for maintaining international peace and security - appear weak and ineffective in the multiple attempts to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The United States had vetoed three previous ceasefire resolutions, and Russia and China objected to its proposal on Friday for a measure linking an immediate ceasefire to the release of hostages.

Monday's resolution was introduced by the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, who represent the rest of the world except for the five countries - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - who have veto power against any resolution.

Israel objected to much of the language, calling for the removal of the word “permanent” before the ceasefire language, and insisted that the demand for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas be linked to any cessation of fighting. The United States shared these concerns: it persuaded the sponsors of the draft resolution to delete the word “permanent” and at least place the call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages separately in the same paragraph.

The final version called for an “immediate ceasefire” lasting at least until the end of the holy month of Ramadan two weeks from now, “leading to a permanent and sustainable end” to the fighting.

In the same lengthy sentence, it also demanded "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as guaranteed humanitarian access." He did not mention Israel or Hamas by name.

“We did not agree with everything” in the final document, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told the council. The United States still wants a clear condemnation of Hamas and a link between the release of the hostages and a ceasefire, and it also continues its efforts in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, but it is clear that in the end, Washington felt that this was enough.

Hours after the vote, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby sought to downplay the sense of bilateral tension, telling reporters at the White House that the United States would continue to "have Israel's back" and press for the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

However, he described Netanyahu's decision to cancel the delegation's trip as disappointing. “We're confused about this,” Kirby said, reiterating the administration's assertion that the abstention does not represent a change in policy. “It appears the Prime Minister's Office is choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don't need to do so.”

For Biden, who has a deep and profound attachment to Israel and has been extremely reluctant to break with Netanyahu, the breach was the culmination of months of frustration. Since the Israeli war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after the attack by Hamas fighters, which resulted - according to Israeli claims - in the killing of about 1,160, including 311 Israeli soldiers (according to the Israeli occupation army), and the capture of at least 250 hostages, as well as It led to the deaths of more than 32,000 people and the wounding of more than 75,000 Palestinian citizens, most of them children and women. The war launched by Israel on the besieged Gaza Strip destroyed more than 80% of Gaza, and the vast majority of the Strip’s population of 2.3 million people were displaced. .

Biden, his administration, and his senior aides have fully supported Israel at every turn.

“Support continues even as Netanyahu has publicly challenged the United States on almost all major issues, including the administration’s desire to see the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the Strip, and the path to a Palestinian state,” according to the newspaper. 

In the face of growing international isolation over the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Israeli air and ground strikes in Gaza and the hundreds of thousands more approaching starvation, the administration has repeatedly responded by supporting “Israel’s right to defend itself” and has continued to send weapons to Israel.

The newspaper attributed to Frank Lowenstein, a former State Department official who helped lead the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2014, that three main factors may have led to Monday’s events: Deep disagreements between Washington and Israel over a large-scale invasion of Rafah, where nearly a million and a half residents reside. Residents of Gaza. They took refuge in Rafah as a refuge from Israeli attacks in the far north. the catastrophic humanitarian situation; and Israel's announcements of new settlements during Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to the country on Friday.

“Biden has done everything he can for months to avoid a major public fight,” Lowenstein said. “It reflects a very dangerous shift in the White House’s position on how to conduct the Israelis throughout the remainder of this war. Either the Israelis will pay attention now or we will likely continue on this path."

It is noteworthy that last weekend, Israel said that it would no longer allow UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency operating in Gaza, to provide any humanitarian aid in the northern region of the Gaza Strip. Despite private US appeals, Israel has refused to take action to expedite the passage of aid trucks into and through Gaza, prompting Biden to order the US military to airdrop food pallets and build a temporary pier on the Gaza coast to begin a sea bridge to supply humanitarian aid.

The administration was particularly angry at the aggressive activities carried out by the Israeli occupation army and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, along with announcements of new settlements that it described as illegal. White House officials have told Israel that new construction undermines its long-term security by angering and radicalizing the Palestinian population and preventing the possibility of a two-state solution.

It is noteworthy that while Blinken was visiting Tel Aviv to hold meetings with Netanyahu and his senior aides, Israel announced on Friday (3/22/2024) the largest confiscation of land in the occupied West Bank since 1993. This step was considered a major blow to the American president, and a tremendous sign of disrespect by Israel. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - viewed by the United States as a particularly problematic member of Netanyahu's government, along with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir - have bragged about confiscating land and building settlements.

The newspaper attributed to Mara Rodman, who served as Middle East envoy during the Obama administration, that although the basic relationship can withstand the recent dispute, “the personal dynamics between Biden and Netanyahu are likely to be particularly tense.” She added: "Geopolitical relations, like personal relations, are going through difficult periods, even in marital relations. The United States and Israel are present in this tense moment now."

It is noteworthy that Netanyahu's relationship with former President Barack Obama was tense, and the United States' decision to abstain from voting in the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in late 2016 led to increased tensions between them. In 2015, Netanyahu came to Washington to deliver a joint speech to Congress in which he criticized the nuclear deal Obama was working on with Iran, bypassing traditional protocol and angering White House officials.

The relationship with Biden, which extends back several decades, was expected to be different. Biden, who has often said he tells Netanyahu: “I love you, Bibi (Netanyahu), even if I can't stand you,” has been repeating his historically superior love for Israel, dating back to his (Biden's) tenure as a member of the House of Representatives. However, he has come under enormous political and international pressure in recent months to publicly break with the Israeli leader and his far-right government.

President Biden has faced protesters at his political events and an ongoing campaign by voters in key states to withhold their support from him during this year's presidential race. More than 100,000 voters in the state of Michigan voted last month with their ballots marked “not committed” during the presidential primary elections in that state, as many Arab American voters said that Biden would lose their votes in the upcoming November 5 elections.

While some activists welcomed the UN Security Council vote on Monday, others called on Biden to go further by restricting the transfer of US weapons to Israel.

Eva Borgwardt, spokeswoman for the American Jewish group IfNotNow, which has opposed the Israeli campaign in Gaza, said in a statement to the organization: “We are pleased that the United States is no longer effectively blocking calls for a ceasefire, but it is time for the Biden administration to use all of its influence — including stopping... Arms transfers - to press for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the exchange of hostages.”

The effort has gone beyond rank-and-file activists, to include senior lawmakers within the president's own party, and some, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), one of Israel's biggest historical supporters, have used their platform to publicly propose replacing Netanyahu.