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New York: The United Nations Security Council has backed a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and urged the Palestinian militants to accept the deal aimed at ending the eight-month-long war.
Hamas has welcomed the adoption of the US-drafted resolution and said in a statement that it was ready to co-operate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan.
Russia abstained from the vote, while the remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution supporting a three-phase ceasefire plan laid out by Biden on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative.
“Today we voted for peace,” US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council after the vote.
The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, states that Israel has accepted it, calls on Hamas to agree to it and “urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”.
The deal called for in UN resolution
- A ceasefire and Israel pulls back from Gaza.
- All hostages held in Gaza returned.
- A permanent end to hostilities.
- Multi-year reconstruction plan.
- No changes in land or demographics for the Gaza Strip.
Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, supported the resolution because “we believe it can represent a step forward toward an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” Algeria’s UN ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council.
“It offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians,” he said. “It’s time to halt the killing.”
The resolution also goes into detail about the proposal, and spells out that “if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue”.