UN Security Council set to decide on US-backed Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal

US finalised the text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the 15-member council

UNITED NATIONS:

The United Nations Security Council will vote later on Monday on a United States (US)-drafted resolution backing a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The US finalised its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the 15-member council. It was not immediately clear whether veto powers Russia and China would allow the adoption of the draft.

A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, China, or Russia to pass.

Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative. Some Security Council members questioned whether Israel had accepted the plan to end the fighting in Gaza.

Read more: Biden details Gaza truce proposal, Hamas responds positively

The draft resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, "which Israel accepted, calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."

It also goes into detail about the proposal, and spells out that "if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue."

The council in March had demanded an immediate ceasefire and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. For months, negotiators from the US, Egypt, and Qatar have been trying to mediate a ceasefire.

Hamas says it wants a permanent end to the war in Gaza and Israeli withdrawal from the enclave of 2.3 million people.