Top Biden administration officials were furious on Thursday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threw cold water on an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire proposal released by a US-led group of nations on Wednesday night. Diplomatic embarrassment, sources tell CNN.
Until Wednesday, US officials had been given every assurance by Ron Dermer, one of Netanyahu’s closest confidantes — the prime minister was on a cease-fire framework that recommended a 21-day ceasefire along the Israel-Lebanon border. Sources said Dermer himself had seen the text of the proposal – and approved it.
But within hours of Biden announcing the White House cease-fire plan, Netanyahu and his office rejected it, calling the idea of an immediate cease-fire “false” and the prime minister vowing to continue Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah.
Furious senior US officials – who believe Netanyahu is reacting to a domestic backlash from far-right members of his government – scrambled to get answers from their Israeli counterparts.
For example, when Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met Dermer in New York City on Thursday, he demanded that the Israelis issue a public statement, an official said. This, in part, prompted the Prime Minister’s Office to issue a statement on Thursday saying discussions on the ceasefire proposal would continue in the coming days. The statement was neither categorically accepted nor rejected.
“Israel appreciates the efforts of the United States in this regard, as the role of the United States in advancing stability and security in the region is essential,” the statement said.
A source familiar with Blinken’s lengthy meeting with Dermer on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly described it only as candid.
Before seeing Blinken, Dermer also saw top White House officials, including Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein. Those meetings were described by one source as “candid”. McCurg and Hochstein were among the senior officials who believed Netanyahu was on board as Dermer worked on developing the cease-fire proposal.
Israel says: A senior Israeli official said Friday that all the confusion and inconsistency over the cease-fire proposal was an “honest misunderstanding” between Israel and the United States.
There were still questions to be answered before Israel agreed to the proposal, a second Israeli official said.
“What happens in a ceasefire? Can they (Hezbollah) take up arms again?” asked the officer. “Can they bring weapons through the Beirut airport, how about the Syrian border?”
“Obviously it needs serious discussion,” they added.
This post has been updated with comment from Israeli officials.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Alex Marquardt reported for this post.
