By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) – The EU on Monday announced that it welcomes the UN Security Council resolution on a latest cease-fire proposal in Gaza.
“The European Union welcomes the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution 2735, supporting the new ceasefire proposal announced on 31 May,” it said in a statement.
Also calling for implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2728, 2720, and 2712, the statement added: “The EU recalls its full support to the comprehensive roadmap presented by United States President Joe Biden. We urge both parties to accept and implement the three-phase proposal.”
It reiterated that the bloc stands ready to contribute to reviving a political process for a lasting and sustainable peace, based on a two-state solution, and to support a coordinated international effort to rebuild Gaza.
The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution supporting a Gaza cease-fire proposal announced last month by US President Joe Biden.
The resolution, submitted by the US, got 14 votes in favor at the 15-member Security Council, with Russia abstaining.
The resolution highlights the diplomatic efforts led by Egypt, the US, and Qatar, and welcomes Biden's three-phase proposal presented on May 31.
The resolution states that Israel has accepted Biden's proposal and calls on Palestinian group Hamas to do the same and implement it.
-3-phase Gaza deal
On May 31, Biden said that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
The first phase proposes "immediate, full, and complete ceasefire, release of hostages including women, the elderly and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas in Gaza, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north, as well as the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout the Gaza Strip to all Palestinian civilians who need it, including housing units delivered by the international community."
The second includes the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza while permanently ceasing hostiles and "full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."
For the third phase, the resolution proposes a long-term reconstruction plan for Gaza to be initiated, with the return of the bodies of deceased hostages.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 37,00 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.