Israeli officials say they have made a decision not to support the spurring United States – Cuban advancements towards a resolution regardless of the White House’s gently nudging the matter to them.

Obama’s announcement to initiate the agreements came as a surprise, say Israeli officials. Fearing future friction with friends in Congress, they have decided not to support it.

Although the Foreign Ministry has advanced the notions of the United States warming up relations with Cuba, Israeli officials claim they have not been briefed properly on the topic.

When the announcement of the relationship reconciliation efforts was made last week, Israel said that they heard the announcement first from the media rather than from U.S. officials themselves.

“They did not even give us a few minutes’ notice,” a senior Israeli official was quoted by Haaretz as saying. The notion was exceptionally surprising to them considering that Israel was often the only country who faithfully stood alongside the U.S. during U.N. resolutions calling to lift the embargo placed on Cuba which had begun since 1960.

Even two months prior to this sudden announcement, the United States had asked for Israel’s support in opposing another resolution calling for the lifting of the embargo.

Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Ron Dermer, has stated to the Fusion TV station on an interview on Tuesday that he was exceptionally not keen on the embargo lift because of Cuba’s rough relations with the nation. He was quoted as saying, “We followed the United States’ lead on this issue. … There was no love lost between Israel and the Castro regime. Castro had supported some of the worst enemies of Israel, terrorist organizations that were fighting Israel, attacked Israel in international forums.”

Israel’s disappointed statements regarding the decision include that it thinks it’s best to wait and see where the reconciliation efforts lead the two countries before it decides on a support statement. As of now, the country is siding with its republican friends in Congress who oppose the matter directly.

Those leaders who are opposed to this matter are seen as “being closer to Israel than are the supporters of Obama’s opening to the communist island near Florida,” Haaretz says.

Although some people blame the recent friction between the U.S. and Israel being a result of Israel’s refusal to support the lifting of the embargo, Israeli media has been blaming Tel Aviv stations’ avidly alienating the republican leaders in Congress who are against Obama’s diplomatic advances.