The United States of America on Monday asked the United Nations Security Council to support a three-step plan announced by President Joe Biden aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador, stated that she had sent a draft resolution to 14 other council members to decide on the proposal to end the hostilities in Gaza.
In a statement released on Monday, June 3, she wrote that many leaders and governments, including countries in the region, have endorsed this plan, and “we want the Security Council to join them and call for the prompt and unconditional implementation of this agreement.”
The Associated Press, which has seen part of this draft presented to the Security Council, reported that it requires Hamas to “fully accept it and implement its conditions promptly and unconditionally.”
When Biden announced this declaration, he referred to it as Israel’s proposal, which includes a “sustainable ceasefire” and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza if Hamas releases all the hostages it holds.
In his latest speech unveiling this plan, Biden said that the first phase of the proposed agreement would continue for six weeks and include a “complete ceasefire,” the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza, and the release of some hostages, including women, elderly, and the injured, in exchange for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the draft ceasefire in Gaza requires at least 9 positive votes in the UN Security Council for approval and is conditional on none of the other four permanent members of the Security Council, especially China and Russia, vetoing it.
The UN Security Council has yet to comment on this matter, and it is expected that voting and discussion on this draft will take place behind closed doors in the coming days.
