Still, the fighting rages relentlessly in Gaza, after two days of the passage of the first resolution by the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate ceasefire,” which the international community relied on to push Israel towards responding to the continuous pressure to halt its military operations since October 7th last year. Members of the UN Security Council voted on March 25, on a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while the United States abstained from voting, after previous attempts to issue a resolution were thwarted by resorting to the veto power. Following this decision, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that Netanyahu canceled a visit of an Israeli delegation to Washington after it abstained from voting on the Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had stated that he would cancel the visit of an Israeli delegation to Washington if the United States did not use its veto against the UN resolution on Gaza. Subsequently, Israel summoned its negotiating team from Qatar after considering that mediation talks for a ceasefire in Gaza had reached a “dead end” due to the demands of the Palestinian Hamas movement, and American officials, alongside Qatari and Egyptian mediators, exerted strong pressure in the recent days to reach an agreement, considering it the only way to achieve a six-week ceasefire in Gaza. Shortly after the Israeli negotiation team was summoned from Doha, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement blaming Hamas for the deadlock.
The United Nations Security Council, tasked with ensuring international peace and security, consists of five permanent member states with veto power: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Ten non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly of the international organization for two-year terms. Among the most prominent tasks of the Security Council are maintaining international peace and security, investigating disputes between states that may lead to international conflicts, recommending settlement of disputes or settlement terms, planning to confront threats to peace, and taking action deemed necessary by the Council against aggressors. Security Council decisions are formal expressions of the United Nations’ opinion or will of its organs. In theory, the Security Council has no limits to its powers. Its decisions are binding on all United Nations members.
In summary, if the Security Council decides anything—imposing sanctions on a country or imposing a ceasefire in a conflict area—this decision must be implemented. No one can ignore the collective will of the five major powers that effectively determine Security Council decisions. However, it is often difficult to reach this collective will, as the permanent members have veto power over resolutions and will cast a negative vote if the proposed resolution conflicts with their national interests. Since the United States abstained from voting on the resolution, it became non-binding. The US described resolution 2728 as non-binding, justifying it by using the phrase “an immediate ceasefire is required” instead of “decides on the necessity of a ceasefire” in the resolution. It is likely that Chapter VII of the UN Charter is one of the strongest tools for compelling states to make decisions binding. It was used to deploy a multinational police force to restore law and order in Haiti in October 2023.
As reported by “The Wall Street Journal“, the UN Security Council’s decision regarding Gaza deepens the division with the Israeli leadership. The newspaper added that Israelis are increasingly divided over the country’s alliance with the United States, as Washington’s decision to allow the passage of a resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza has encouraged populist voices demanding more independence from American influence in the Israeli government. For decades, most Israelis have not questioned the alliance with Washington, and Israel relies on the United States on multiple fronts, ranging from billions of dollars in military aid packages to coordination in confronting Iran and cyber cooperation. Following the October 7 attacks, the United States deployed warships to the region alongside military forces and assets, widely seen as deterring the Lebanese Hezbollah party and its ally Iran from entering the conflict and igniting a wider war. The Israeli security establishment, as well as the center and left, view American support for Israel as the cornerstone of the country’s future, but cracks have begun to appear. The majority of Israeli center and left (82.5% and 64.5% respectively) support coordination with the US, but on the right, a majority of 64% say that Israel should act solely according to its leadership’s judgment, according to a survey conducted by the Israeli Democracy Institute in March.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden faces negative reactions from pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties (Republicans and Democrats) for allowing the UN Security Council to pass a resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. Representative Anthony DeSantis (Republican from New York) introduced a bill stating that “any resolution to the Israeli conflict with (Hamas) must only be done in collaboration and full agreement from Israel at every step of the process.” The measure, first published by “Jewish Insider,” states that the United States “must continue to support Israel, and must not attempt to force the country to take any action that conflicts with its interests.” DeSantis held discussions with Republican leadership in the House of Representatives regarding the bill, according to a source familiar with the matter. Republicans were not alone in condemning the abstention from voting; Senator John Fetterman (Democrat from Pennsylvania) said in a social media post, „it is terrible that the United States allowed the passage of a resolution that fails to condemn (Hamas).”
On the other hand, Israeli analysts argue that the demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, recently approved by the Security Council, is not binding because it did not pass under Chapter VII. However, they also express concerns about its potential consequences for Israel. This now leads to discussions in the international community about violations of the Security Council resolution on the ceasefire, and it strengthens the reasons for action by the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the International Criminal Court.
Prominent Israeli political figures have stated that the Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire poses significant problems and has deepened the rifts between Israel and the United States. According to Sima Kidmon, a political analyst and writer for the Israeli newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth,” Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the visit of the Israeli delegation to Washington, consisting of National Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, was made for internal political reasons. Kidmon stated, „in order to maintain the government coalition and gain points due to its toughness against Biden, Netanyahu is endangering Israel because the war in Gaza is not over yet, and the war in the north is still ahead of us.”
Additionally, the Israeli newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” reported that members of the Likud party accused Cabinet member Benny Gantz of causing the relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden to deteriorate unprecedentedly, leading to the peak of disagreement between the United States and Israel, with Washington abstaining from using its veto power against the Security Council resolution. Deputy Knesset Speaker Nissim Vaturi was quoted as saying that Gantz was the main culprit in this matter, blaming him for his recent visit to Washington without coordinating with Netanyahu. Vaturi stated, „they always talk about Netanyahu being guilty, but let’s think about what happened a minute ago. Gantz went to the United States to incite the Americans against the Israeli government. Who was hurt in the end? You are hurting Israel. You brought disaster upon it, everything that happened is because of you. You wanted to harm the government, and you harmed Israel.” According to the newspaper, Knesset member Meirav Ben-Ari responded to Vaturi, saying, “Gantz is in your coalition.” Vaturi replied, “Yes, Gantz is a member of the coalition, but he’s a fifth column.”
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