President Joe Biden is pushing to impose his ceasefire plan, which now incorporates the Israeli response, on the world. In recent days, the U.S. has been circulating its draft resolution in the UN Security Council; on June 6, envoys from China, Russia and Algeria all expressed their opposition and reservations. Russia offered amendments,
The current U.S. draft is described by media as a three-phase construct, which begins by welcoming a ceasefire, but not an indefinite one. Israel reportedly terms this as “acceptable,” and “calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.” After the phase one “full and complete ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, then phase two will see it continued, “upon agreement of the parties, a permanent end to hostilities.”
Russia’s proposed amendments to the U.S. text, which were seen and reported by Reuters, call on both Hamas and Israel to accept the proposal, but also demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire respected by all parties. Moscow also wants the draft to stress that the phase one ceasefire will remain in place as long as negotiations continue on phase two, reflecting remarks made by Biden last week.
