Israel finds itself under intense scrutiny as it navigates the dual challenges of rescuing hostages and embracing President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
The UN security council has adopted a resolution calling for Hamas to agree to a three-phase hostage-for-ceasefire proposal outlined by Biden, the first time the body has endorsed a comprehensive peace deal to end the Gaza war.
President Biden’s ceasefire proposal outlines a phased approach, starting with an initial six-week ceasefire and the exchange of Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Subsequent phases include a permanent ceasefire and the release of remaining captives, followed by a reconstruction effort for the devastated Gaza Strip.
The resolution called on Hamas to accept the agreement and urged both parties “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”.
The resolution said that the US, Qatar and Egypt would “work to ensure negotiations keep going until all the agreements are reached and phase two is able to begin.”
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, called the passing of the US-sponsored resolution a “step in the right direction.”
Hamas was quick to welcome the resolution and said it’s ready to cooperate with mediators on the plan’s implementation, but negotiations on a formal ceasefire deal are ongoing.
Fourteen council members voted for the resolution and none against.
Only Russia abstained on the US-drafted resolution.
Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia said that he’s unsure of Israeli position on ceasefire deal.
“What specifically has Israel agreed to? Perhaps we will hear from the Israeli representative. The Council should not sign up to any agreement that has vague parameters. Essentially this agreement gives carte blanche on details we don’t have.”
Vassily Nebenzia
“We did not wish to block the resolution simply because it, as much as we understand, is supported by the Arab world,” Nebenzia told the council.
While the US claims that Israel’s government proposed the ceasefire and had already accepted its terms, public statements from key members of the ruling coalition, including Prime Minister Netanyahu himself, vowing to continue the conflict until Hamas is eliminated, raise questions about their commitment to the deal.
Even after the UN Security Council unanimously voted for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly, the political coordinator for Israel’s mission to the UN, said that all Hamas needs to do to stop the war is put done its weapons and surrender.
“Once these goals are met, the war will end. Not one more shot needs to be fired yet, sadly, for the past eight months, Hamas has refused.
“Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations, which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time. The time has come for this council to finally hold Hamas accountable, to finally place the blame where it belongs, to finally condemn terror.”
Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly
Israel Taken By Surprise
Alon Liel, the former Director of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Israeli government “was taken by surprise” by the resolution.
“Israel is not standing behind its own proposal and definitely not the draft proposal submitted by the Americans,” he said.
“Our Ambassador tried in the last 48 hours to change the text and was unable to do it. So Israel definitely doesn’t like this resolution… If Israel will openly reject it, the pressure will grow internationally.”
Alon Liel
Liel added that the key country to pressure Israel to implement the UN’s ceasefire resolution is not the United States, but Egypt.
“Egypt is now in a position to put enormous pressure on Israel to end the war. The war every day is coming closer to the Egyptian border, deeper into Rafah, with refugees going into Egypt,” Liel noted.
Ultimately, the fate of the ceasefire proposal hinges on Israel’s willingness to embrace the vision of a future defined not by conflict, but by cooperation and coexistence.
Only then can the promise of peace be transformed from a distant dream into a tangible reality.
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