Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia and China, which hold veto power on the U.N. Security Council, expressed concern on Thursday about a U.S. draft resolution that would support a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant Hamas outlined by President Joe Biden. proposal.
Algeria, the council’s only Arab member, also said it was not prepared to support the text, diplomats said. A resolution requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the United States, France, Britain, China or Russia to pass.
Biden a week ago laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan for Gaza, which he said was an Israeli initiative.
The United States is seeking international support for a plan Hamas is still working on. It circulated a one-page draft resolution to the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Monday and a revised version on Wednesday, both of which were seen by Reuters.
The current draft welcomes the ceasefire proposal, calling it “acceptable” to Israel, “calls on Hamas to also accept the proposal and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and conditions.”
It laid out some details of the proposal – a “general and complete ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip as part of the first phase, and a “permanent end to hostilities by agreement of all parties” in the second phase.
But diplomats said some council members raised questions about whether Israel had truly accepted the plan and wanted the council to stick to its March demands for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages.
Russia proposed changes to the U.S. text, seen by Reuters, that included calling on Hamas and Israel to accept the proposal and demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire from all parties.
Moscow also wants the draft to emphasize that the phase one ceasefire will remain in place as long as phase two negotiations continue, mirroring Biden’s comments last week.
Negotiators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker a ceasefire for months. Hamas says it wants a permanent end to the war in Gaza and wants Israel to withdraw its troops from the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Israel is retaliating for an October 7 attack by Hamas militants who rule Gaza.
According to Israeli statistics, on October 7, Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 people hostage. More than 100 hostages are believed to still be held in Gaza.
Israel has launched air, ground and sea attacks on the blockaded Palestinian territory, killing more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza.
