The UN Security Council adopts its first resolution supporting a truce plan , aiming to end the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement "Hamas" in Gaza, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
The US-drafted resolution was adopted by the 15-member Council with 14 votes in favor, with Russia abstaining.
The resolution welcomes the cease-fire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden, which the US says Israel has already accepted. The text calls out to "Hamas", which initially said it viewed "positively" of the motion to accept the three-stage plan.
The resolution calls on Israel and "Hamas" "to fully comply with its terms immediately and unconditionally".
After the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the most influential UN body had voted for peace.
Washington says that only the movement "Hamas" has not yet agreed to the plan. However, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet given a definite and public approval to the plan, DPA notes.
The Security Council resolution, which is binding under international law, states that Israel has accepted the plan, invites "Hamas" to do the same and all stakeholders are urged to implement the plan without delay and without conditions.
This was the 11th Security Council vote on a resolution on the war in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict. Only four of the proposed solutions were adopted.
The ambitious draft deal presented by Biden in late May initially called for a full and indefinite cease-fire for a period of six weeks. During this period, a certain group of hostages will be released. In return, Palestinians held in Israeli prisons will be released. The next stage envisages a final cessation of hostilities and the release of the remaining hostages, and the final phase should begin the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia warned that the adopted resolution can only remain on paper, TASS reported.
"Since the beginning of the escalation of the situation in Gaza, the Security Council has already adopted three resolutions, the implementation of whose provisions remains only on paper. A fourth can be added to them," he noted in a statement after the vote.
"We always look positively at any diplomatic efforts on the ground aimed at reconciliation, the parameters of which suit both parties. At the same time, we have a number of questions about the American draft resolution, in which the Council welcomes a deal, the final outlines of which are not known to anyone except perhaps the mediators," Nebenzya emphasized. The Security Council is not aware of the details of the arrangements by the authors. In effect, we are being offered a cat in a sack," he added.
The Palestinian Islamist group "Hamas", its ally - the group "Islamic Jihad" - and their rival Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed yesterday's UN Security Council resolution supporting a ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
In a statement "Hamas" announced that it was ready to cooperate with the mediators for the implementation of the principles contained in the plan. Earlier yesterday, the group said it was only willing to accept a deal that would ensure an end to the war in Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was determined to continue the war against "Hamas".
„Hamas welcomes the contents of the Security Council resolution, which affirms the final cease-fire in Gaza, the complete withdrawal, the exchange of prisoners, the reconstruction of Gaza, the return of the displaced persons to the areas where they live, the rejection of any demographic change or the reduction of the area of the Gaza Strip and the delivery of the necessary aid to our people in the Strip”, the armed group said in a statement.
Separately "Islamic Jihad" stated that it viewed the resolution positively, particularly in terms of paving the way towards achieving a complete cessation of aggression and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas" also stated that it is ready to participate in indirect negotiations to implement the principles "which are in harmony with the demands of our people and the resistance".
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian presidency welcomed the resolution, saying it supported "any resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and preserves the integrity of Palestinian land.