Angered by American abstention on a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war without explicitly linking it to the release of Israeli hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a critical trip to Washington by his leading advisors, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, who were slated to discuss alternatives to an all-out IDF ground operation in Rafah, the last major Hamas redoubt. Two days later, Netanyahu backtracked, stating that the trip merely had been postponed for about a week, rather than canceled.
In practice, it matters little whether the two senior Israelis do come to Washington. Both are unlikely to reach any agreement with the administration — Hanegbi is a long-time leader of the settler movement, has consistently pressed for settlement expansion in the West Bank and also opposed Ariel Sharon’s 2005 decision to withdraw from Gaza.
Dermer is perhaps the prime minister’s closest political advisor. He has asserted that Israel will “fight to the end” in Gaza. Moreover, his highest priority is the preservation of the current extreme right-wing government that Netanyahu leads. And Itamar Ben Gvir and........