UN-backed Gaza cease-fire plan announced by US has uncertainties

By Bekir Aydogan

ISTANBUL (AA) - It is uncertain if the UN-backed three-phase cease-fire plan for Gaza can be implemented as there has been no clear response from Israel on a permanent truce.

The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution that supports the truce proposal announced by US President Joe Biden, with 14 votes in favor and Russia abstaining.

The adopted draft highlights the diplomatic efforts led by Egypt, the US, and Qatar, the three countries mediating to end the war that started last October, and welcomes the proposal Biden announced on May 31, which he called an Israeli roadmap to end the conflict.

The resolution said Israel has accepted Biden's proposal and called on the Palestinian group Hamas to do the same and implement it.

Israel, however, insists it will not halt its attacks on Gaza, which have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians and created conditions of famine in the blockaded enclave, "without achieving its objectives."

Hamas, meanwhile, argues it will not accept the plan without a permanent cease-fire in the territory.

- Is Israel accepting the cease-fire plan?

The Biden administration says Israel has accepted the deal, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not said so outright.

In fact, the premier and other officials have issued statements against the deal being advanced by the US president.

Netanyahu said Israel "will not agree to end the war without achieving its objectives," and claimed there were “gaps” between the Israeli proposal and the one presented by Biden.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to topple the government if Netanyahu accepts the proposal.

Netanyahu's office also denied a report by Channel 12 that it had agreed to permanently end the offensive in Gaza as part of a prisoner-hostages exchange deal.

- Hamas stance on cease-fire plan

In a statement shortly after the vote on the draft text, Hamas said it welcomed the resolution that called for a "permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the complete withdrawal, the prisoners’ exchange [and] reconstruction."

It also voiced its willingness to cooperate with the mediators to engage in indirect negotiations on implementing the resolution's principles that are "consistent with the demands of our people and resistance."

- 3-phase Gaza deal

The first stage of the comprehensive new plan proposes a six-week cease-fire during which the Israeli army will withdraw from the populated areas of Gaza.

Hostages, including the elderly and women, would be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Civilians would also return to all of Gaza, with 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid flooding the enclave daily, Biden said.

The second phase would see Hamas and Israel negotiate terms for a permanent end to hostilities, while the third would facilitate reconstruction of the enclave. ​​​​​​​

There are uncertainties whether the resolution will bring about a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

While the resolution says the second phase will begin after the parties agree, Israel's refusal to back down on the issue of a permanent truce raises questions about how the agreement would be reached.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul