On Wednesday, March 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida at his Jerusalem office.

The Prime Minister thanked Scott for his unwavering support of the State of Israel, particularly during these challenging times.

Netanyahu defended canceling a trip by his top aides to Washington in protest of the Biden administration's decision to allow the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire and hostage release.

The Prime Minister's Office released Netanyahu's statement: "I think that the US decision not to veto the resolution in the UN Security Council is a very bad move. The bad thing about the US decision was it encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas. As a result, my decision not to send a delegation to Washington was a message to Hamas: 'Don't bet on this pressure; it's not going to work.' I hope they got the message."