The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution endorsing a US-backed ceasefire proposal aimed at ending Israel’s eight-month-old assault on Gaza.
The vote on the U.S.-sponsored resolution took place Monday by a vote of 14-0, with Russia abstaining.
The resolution welcomes a proposed three-phase ceasefire announced last month by US President Joe Biden, which calls for an initial six-week ceasefire and the exchange of some Israeli captives held in Gaza against Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
The second phase would include a permanent ceasefire and the release of remaining prisoners. The third phase would involve an effort to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip.
The United States says Israel accepted the proposal, although some Israeli officials have since vowed to continue the war until Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules Gaza, is eliminated.
The resolution calls on Hamas, which initially said it viewed the proposal “positively,” to accept the three-phase plan.
It urges Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its conditions, without delay and without conditions.”
Hamas was quick to welcome the resolution on Monday. In a statement after the vote, Hamas said it was ready to cooperate with mediators and begin indirect negotiations on the implementation of the principles of the agreement.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from UN headquarters in New York, said the Security Council adopted the resolution “by an overwhelming majority and it is binding under international law.”
The “big question going forward,” Elizondo said, is whether this law will be enforced and implemented.
“The United States has made it very clear that Israel agrees with this. So this puts a lot of pressure on Israel to respect this rule. »
Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood earlier told reporters that the United States wanted to make sure all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council were on board to support what he described as “the best and most realistic opportunity to put at least a temporary end to this war”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said Biden had only presented parts of the proposal and insisted that any talk of a permanent ceasefire before dismantling Hamas’ military and government capabilities was doomed. to failure.
Hamas has often stated that any agreement must lead to a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza, reconstruction and “a settlement agreement”. ‘serious exchange’ between Gaza captives and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. .
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on March 25 demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended on April 9, with the United States abstaining. . But the offensive was not stopped.
Three-phase plan
Biden’s May 31 announcement of the new ceasefire proposal said it would begin with a six-week ceasefire and the release of captives held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza and the return of Palestinian civilians to Gaza. all areas of the territory.
The resolution details the proposal and states that “if negotiations last more than six weeks for the first phase, the ceasefire will continue for as long as negotiations continue.”
The first phase also requires the safe distribution of humanitarian aid “on a large scale throughout the Gaza Strip,” which Biden said would lead to 600 aid trucks entering Gaza each day.
In the second phase, the resolution stipulates that with the agreement of Israel and Hamas, “a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” will take place.
The third phase would launch “a major multi-year plan for the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of the remains of all deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.”
The resolution reiterates “the UN Security Council’s unwavering commitment to realizing the vision of a negotiated two-state solution in which two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure borders and recognized.
It also emphasizes “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” something Netanyahu’s right-wing government has not accepted.
Alon Liel, former director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said the Israeli government “was taken by surprise” by the resolution.
“The resolution here gives new content to Blinken’s visit. I think we will have a very busy morning discussing it tomorrow,” Liel told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Israel does not support its own proposal and certainly not the draft proposal submitted by the Americans,” he said.
“Our ambassador tried over the last 48 hours to modify the text and was unable to do so. So Israel absolutely does not like this resolution… If Israel openly rejects it, the pressure will increase at the international level,” Liel added.
