The United States has presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It calls for a realistic temporary ceasefire and opposes an Israeli ground operation in the southern city of Rafah. Al Jazeera, a Qatar-based media outlet, received the draft on Monday.
The draft said the Security Council should support a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. This will be based on the release of all hostages and the removal of all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. It warned Israel not to conduct ground operations in Rafah.
Israel has announced an operation in Rafah. The international community condemns such a decision.
Algeria presented a draft resolution to the Security Council two weeks ago. It called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel war. A vote on the proposal is scheduled for Tuesday. The US had indicated it would veto the proposal. Then they raised their own counter proposal.
The US, Egypt, Israel and Qatar are working on a possible Hamas-Israel settlement. In exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas, the officials of the respective countries are discussing the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Baez said the US draft contained significant linguistic changes. This is the first time the United States has used the term cease-fire. This is important because Israel does not want any resolution to mention a ceasefire. But their main ally, the United States, is now proposing it.
The United States has been protecting Israel at the United Nations since October 7. Washington has vetoed two Security Council resolutions. However, the country abstained from voting in two polls.
Baez said the new draft of the United States outlined the idea of a cease-fire. But it does not explicitly call for its implementation. As a result, this proposal may not be acceptable to Russia.
Russia and the United States are permanent members of the Security Council, with veto power. A date for a vote on Washington’s draft is also unknown.
According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 29,092 people have been killed and about 70,000 wounded in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Israel claims that about 1,200 people have been killed in Israel by Hamas attacks on October 7.
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