Hamas welcomes UN Security Council ceasefire resolution on Gaza

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council passed on Monday (June 10) afternoon a US resolution that welcomes a ceasefire proposal announced by President Joe Biden that the United States says Israel has accepted. It calls on Hamas to accept the three-phase plan.

Out of the 15 members, Russia abstained from the vote, while the remaining 14 council members voted in favour. The US had finalised its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among council members.

Hamas welcomed the UNSC resolution backing a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it is ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan. The group also said it was willing to engage in indirect negotiations over implementing the principles "that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance."

The resolution urges Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and condition.”

FIRST UNSC RESOLUTION ON CEASEFIRE

It is the first Security Council resolution on a ceasefire plan aimed at ending the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters before the vote on Monday that the United States wanted to make sure all 15 Security Council members were on board. Wood described the draft resolution as "the best, most realistic opportunity to bring at least a temporary halt to this war.”

The Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on Monday that the presidency is with any resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and preserves Palestinian land unity.

Dr Mohammed Abu-Nimer, professor at the American University School of International Service in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, said the resolution was a "good step" in general.

However, he noted that it should have been done in previous votes before the war evolved into "nine months of massive killing and massive destruction".

"It's a good step because I think it has several components that Hamas and the Israeli government can work with," Dr Abu-Nimer told CNA's Asia First on Tuesday.

"I hope we're going to see a clear acceptance from the Israeli side, which will pave the way hopefully for more serious negotiations to start the ceasefire immediately."

The primary issue continues to be how permanent the ceasefire will be, he added.

MORE THAN EIGHT MONTHS OF VIOLENCE

The conflict was sparked by Hamas’ Oct 7 attack in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mainly Israeli civilians, and saw some 250 others taken hostage. About 120 hostages remain, with 43 pronounced dead.

Israel’s massive military offensive has killed over 36,700 Palestinians and wounded more than 83,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It has also destroyed about 80 per cent of Gaza’s buildings, according to the UN.

The Security Council adopted a resolution on March 25 demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which ended April 9, with the US abstaining. But there was no halt to the war.

The resolution underscores “the importance of the ongoing diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States aimed at reaching a comprehensive ceasefire consisting of three phases.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his eighth trip to the Middle East since Oct 7 pursuing that goal.

He is expected to meet Israeli minister Benjamin Gantz, who resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war Cabinet on Sunday citing changes in the country's situation and decision-making room.

Dr Abu-Nimer told CNA that Gantz and other opposition leaders have influence and leverage among the Israeli public, and will likely replace Netanyahu in the next election. This is why Blinken is continuing conversations with them, noted the expert.

"It's a given that Netanyahu's political career will end after this. After this war and election, the prospect for his re-electing are very, very small compared to Gantz and also other Israeli leaders in the opposition," said Dr Abu-Nimer.

INITIAL SIX-WEEK CEASEFIRE

US President Biden’s May 31 announcement of the new ceasefire proposal said it would begin with an initial six-week ceasefire with the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza and the return of Palestinian civilians to all areas in the territory.

Phase one also requires the safe distribution of humanitarian assistance “at scale throughout the Gaza Strip,” which Biden said would lead to 600 trucks with aid entering Gaza every day.

In phase two, the draft resolution says 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 full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” will take place.

Phase three would launch “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.”

CEASEFIRE WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS TALKS DO

The resolution underlines that the proposal says if negotiations take longer than six weeks for the first phase, “the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue." It would welcome “the readiness of the United States, Egypt and Qatar to work to ensure negotiations keep going until all the agreements are reached and phase two is able to begin.”

The final draft rejected any attempt to change Gaza’s territory or demography, or reduce its size, but drops wording that specifically mentioned the reduction by officially or unofficially establishing “so-called buffer zones.”

It reiterates the Security Council’s “unwavering commitment to achieving the vision of a negotiated two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders.”

And it would stress “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.” This is something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has not agreed to.

Editor's note: The Associated Press has corrected its article to show that the first phase of the proposed ceasefire would last six weeks, not six months.