US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment” to the proposal when they held talks in Jerusalem on Monday
Blinken described as a “hopeful sign” Hamas’s response to a resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Monday supporting what Biden had announced.
The resolution noted that ‘Israel’ had accepted what Biden had presented and called on Hamas to do so as well.
Hamas issued a statement on Tuesday welcoming “what was included” in the resolution.
The actual Israeli proposal – reportedly lengthier than the summary presented by Biden – has not been made public and it is unclear whether it varies from what the US president conveyed.
The Israeli proposal was agreed upon by Israel’s three-man war cabinet and has not been divulged to the wider government. Some far-right ministers have already made clear they oppose it. Netanyahu has not said directly whether he supports the plan as laid out by President Biden.
The US said the Israeli proposal had been presented to Hamas by mediator Qatar earlier that week.
Following Biden’s announcement on 31 May, Hamas said it would “deal positively… with any proposal” which would see the end of the war, the full withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces, the return of displaced people to their homes and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in ‘Israel’, without saying whether it accepted or rejected the plan.
The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution aimed at reaching a comprehensive ceasefire deal in three phases to end the war in Gaza, with US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield telling members “today, we voted for peace.”
Adopted by a large majority with 14 votes in favor and Russia abstaining – choosing not to exercise its veto power – the resolution also urges both parties to fully implement the terms of the proposal “without delay and without condition.”
Source: Al-Manar English Website
