UN Security Council approves ceasefire in Gaza

The Security Council of the United Nations (UN) approved, this Monday (10), the proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip made by the United States. The resolution was approved by 14 votes in favor, none against and with Russia abstaining.

With approval, the United States is trying to corner the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, in addition to opening new fronts in the conflict with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and launching bombings against countries such as Syria and Iran, has placed Last Saturday (8), a hostage rescue operation was carried out, which recovered four civilians, but left a trail of blood with more than 270 Palestinians dead.

The American plan consists of three phases:

• the first contemplates the exchange of hostages and prisoners, as well as a short-term ceasefire;
• the second envisages a “permanent end to hostilities” and a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza;
• third and final phase foresees the beginning of a multi-year plan to rebuild the enclave, largely destroyed by Israel over the course of eight months of war

The proposal was presented on May 31, when the Biden administration announced and described the ceasefire as an Israeli initiative. However, reactions from far-right ministers within the Netanyahu administration, who threatened to leave the government if the head of state accepted the proposal, suggested that the proposal was, in fact, an imposition by Israel’s main ally, the U.S.

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This Tuesday (11), the head of United States diplomacy, Antony Blinken, stated that Netanyahu “reiterated his commitment” to the proposed ceasefire in Gaza during a meeting in Jerusalem.

“I had a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and he reiterated his commitment to the proposal,” Blinken said.

According to Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, the Islamic group accepted the terms of the ceasefire on Tuesday. Hamas had been signaling positively for the American proposal for weeks, which had the assistance of diplomacy from Qatar and Egypt.

What does the proposal say

In addition to the three basic conditions approved by the UN Security Council, this Monday, the agreement also reiterates the body’s commitment to a negotiated two-state solution, “where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side and in peace within secure borders and recognized, consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions”.

The document rejects any attempt to modify the Palestinian territory, in addition to ensuring a ceasefire while negotiations continue or are stalled.

“The proposal says that if negotiations take more than six weeks for the first phase, the ceasefire will continue as long as negotiations continue,” the resolution says. The text also rejects “any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza.”

Around 37,000 Palestinians were killed and another 80,000 injured by air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip after Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and another 200 civilians kidnapped.

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