The UN Security Council voted on Monday in favour of a US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza.
The 15-member Security Council negotiated the agreement for more than a week before voting on Monday, a result that US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield hailed as a “vote for peace.” Both Hamas and Israel have indicated their support for the proposal.
“Yesterday, the UN Security Council called on Hamas to accept an agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. What is needed now more than ever is a cease-fire with the release of hostages. Israel has already accepted this agreement. Now the ball is in Hamas’s hand,” Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement on Tuesday.
The proposal passed unanimously 14-0, with Russia abstaining.
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The ceasefire proposal calls for a three-phase process that would lead to an end to Israel’s Gaza war, beginning with the exchange of Gaza hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
The second phase would involve a negotiated end to the war and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, while the third phase would involve the reconstruction of Gaza.
The Biden administration has said Israel has accepted the agreement, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly acknowledged it, a contradiction Thomas-Greenfield pointed out in an interview with NPR on Monday.
“He didn’t say [he accepts]”I don’t know why… I can’t go into detail here,” she said.
The ceasefire proposal calls for a three-phase process to end the war in Gaza, starting with exchanging Gaza hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A senior Hamas official confirmed the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday. Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas was ready to negotiate the details, adding that it was up to Washington whether Israel would abide by the agreement.
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“The US government faces a real test in implementing UN Security Council resolutions and fulfilling its commitments to the occupying forces to bring an immediate end to the war,” Abu Zuhri said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel and Qatar last week to try to speed up ceasefire talks. (REUTERS/Elisabeth Franz/Pool/File Photo)
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan echoed the calls for a permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas was ready for a fair prisoner exchange deal, but the UN resolution was flawed and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “one of the obstacles to reaching an agreement because it acts solely in accordance with Israel’s wishes.”
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“There are some points in the resolution that we do not accept, but the main points are positive,” Hamdan said. “Security Council resolutions will not have any effect on the ground unless the occupying forces agree to them.”
