Left in the dark over Washington’s reunification plans with Havana, while not wanting to alienate key Republican allies, Israel has opted not to publicly support the Obama administration’s Cuban initiative, Israeli officials say.
Last week’s announcement that the US and Cuba had laid the groundwork for a historic reconciliation came as an apparent surprise for Israel, whose government ministers first heard the news from media reports.
“They didn’t even give us a few minutes’ notice,” a senior Israeli official was quoted by Haaretz as saying.
Despite a formal request from the Obama administration, Israel has decided to withhold public support of the US-Cuba breakthrough, top Israeli officials said on Wednesday.
Read More: ‘Offended’ Israel not to support publicly the US-Cuba breakthrough – report
Niamh Harris