The relations between Israel and the US hit a speed bump. It isn’t a major break. It does, however, reflect differences in how the two sides view the Gaza War. The Americans want to control the war, and limit Israeli operations. All this really does is show up the poor understanding of the US government of the nature and background of the conflict. On the Israeli side the differences expose a serious problem in the character of Prime Minister Netanyahu. To me, he looks like an immature, petulant child. Canceling a high level visit is more like threatening to quit the team than trying to mend fences (mixed metaphor, but he really should be trying to find ways to cooperate toward a common goal rather than throwing a tantrum).
The actual resolution is non-binding. It does call for release of hostages, and it covers a period of only the weeks till the end of Ramadan. The hope may be that the fighting should halt temporarily while attempts are made to find a way to halt it permanently. On the negative side, there is no condemnation of Hamas, no specified means of enforcement, and it is a case where the US did not veto a resolution that has an anti-Israel appearance.
It will be interesting to see if Hezbollah in Lebanon stops launching rockets at Israel, or the Houthis in Yemen relax their blockade. New cars from Asian automobile makers are not arriving in Eilat. That means a boost for European manufacturers. They are temporarily without Asian competition in Israel.
Wetherhorn 