The U.S. Security Council Approves a Nonstarter Agreement for a Permanent Non-Proliferation Plan for the Gaza Strip
Israeli officials have not publicly endorsed the cease-fire plan, and they have not said whether they would abide by the deal if Hamas accepts it. A day after Mr. Biden’s announcement, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement that appeared to undercut the proposal, calling a permanent cease-fire a “nonstarter.”
Diplomats said that during negotiations, the United States asked Security Council members to take its word that Israel was on board, and refused to incorporate clear language in the text that Israel accept the deal.
Ever since the war started eight months ago, the Security Council has been in a deadlock over finding a way to end the conflict and fulfill its mandate to uphold international peace and stability.
China, which vetoed a cease-fire resolution put forth by the United States in March because it said the proposal did not go far enough, said that it had voted in favor of this one because it wants to see the fighting end and the hostages released.
“We still have valid concerns on whether the parties concerned will accept the terms of the cease-fire and whether the arrangement can be carried out smoothly,” he said.
The U.N. Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip after Russia opted not to block it, adding extra heft to a growing international push for an end to the fighting.
Washington was given a diplomatic victory when it vetoed three previous cease-fire resolutions before the council.
Linda Thomas- Greenfield said that the only way to end violence and build peace was through a political settlement.
Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States would work to make sure that Israel agreed to the deal and that Qatar and Egypt would work to bring Hamas to the negotiating table.
Some hostages will be released by Hamas and Israel in the first six-week cease- fire as part of the plan. The second phase of the war would be the negotiation of a permanent end to the war and Israel withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. Hamas wants a permanent cease-fire.
The representative of Israel to the UN, Reut Shapir Ben-Nataly, did not say that her country had accepted the terms but did say that they would use military operations to free hostages as they did just two years ago.
“We will continue until all of the hostages are returned and Hamas’s military capabilities are dismantled,” Ms. Shapir Ben-Naftaly told the council. She said if the hostages were freed, there would be no need to fire a shot.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said that the council remained in the dark about the details of the U.S.’s agreement with Israel and had “essentially voted for a cat in the bag.”
The US ambassador to the UN said that the council was sending a message to Hamas.
If Hamas stopped fighting, the fighting would stop because Israel agreed to the deal. She said the fighting could stop today.
“If you want a cease-fire, press Hamas to say yes. Press Hamas if you want to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. If you want to get all the hostages home, press Hamas to say yes,” Blinken said in Cairo earlier Monday.
Hamas had called off negotiations after Israel rescued four hostages held in Gaza in an operation this weekend that also killed more than 270 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The text is not perfect but it offers hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering. “We voted to give diplomacy a chance.”