(United Nations) The United States announced Sunday that it had requested a vote by the UN Security Council on its draft resolution calling on Israel and Hamas to implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza “without delay” on the table, without specifying a date.
According to diplomatic sources, the vote is planned for Monday, but has not been confirmed by the South Korean presidency of the Council.
“Today, the United States called on the Security Council to move towards a vote on the American draft resolution […] supporting the proposal on the table,” the spokesperson for the American mission said in a statement at the UN, Nate Evans.
“Council members should not let this opportunity pass and must speak with one voice in support of this agreement,” he added, as the United States, Israel’s ally, was widely criticized for blocking several draft resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
American President Joe Biden unveiled at the end of May a plan, according to him, Israeli, in three phases of around forty days each to move from a temporary ceasefire to lasting peace in Gaza.
The Americans clearly place the primary responsibility for accepting it on Hamas. As highlighted in the draft resolution.
The third version of the text distributed to member states on Sunday, seen by AFP, “welcomes” this proposal. It also ensures, contrary to previous versions, that the plan was “accepted” by Israel.
It calls on Hamas “to also accept it and calls on both sides to fully implement its terms without delay and without conditions.”
Responding to requests made by several member states since the start of negotiations a week ago, the new text specifies the content of the plan.
It thus indicates that if the first phase – “immediate and complete” ceasefire, release of hostages taken by Hamas and “exchange” of Palestinian prisoners, withdrawal of the Israeli army from “populated areas of Gaza”, and entry of humanitarian aid – takes more than six weeks, the ceasefire will be maintained “as long as negotiations continue.”
According to diplomatic sources, several members of the Council were very reserved on the two previous versions of the American text, in particular Algeria, which represents the Arab group, and Russia, which has a right of veto.
Since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel and Israeli retaliation in Gaza, the Security Council has struggled to speak with one voice.
After two resolutions mainly focused on humanitarian aid, at the end of March he finally demanded an “immediate ceasefire” for the duration of Ramadan, with the United States this time deciding to abstain.
After the decision at the end of May by the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to stop its offensive in Rafah, Algeria circulated a draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and, more precisely, the end of the offensive in Rafah.
The United States then estimated that such a text “would not help”, still favoring negotiations on the ground to achieve a truce.