US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Monday announced that she is seeking the support of the Security Council for a ceasefire deal whose details are not yet officially publicized, but which certainly includes an IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip cities and the flow of humanitarian aid and cash to help Hamas resume its military and civilian control.
“Today, the United States circulated a new US draft Security Council Resolution supporting the proposal now on the table to end the fighting in Gaza through a cease-fire and hostage deal,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement, adding, “Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan, and we call on the Security Council to join them in calling for the implementation of this deal without delay and without further conditions.”
Two key draft items that were released on Monday said:
On the 22nd day of the first phase, after Hamas releases half of the living civilian hostages, including female soldiers, Israeli forces will withdraw from the center of the Gaza Strip, especially from Netzarim and Kuwait Square, east of Salah al-Din Rd., to a nearby area. The military outposts will be completely dismantled. The return of the displaced to their places of residence in the north of the Gaza Strip will continue and the freedom of movement of the residents will be renewed all over the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian aid will be increased to 600 trucks per day, including 50 fuel trucks, of which 300 will go to the north of the Gaza Strip – including the fuel needed to operate the power plant. Equipment is needed to clear rubble and restore and operate hospitals, health centers, and bakeries all over the Gaza Strip, and this will continue throughout all phases of the agreement.
The draft’s second phase, after 42 days, includes the announcement of a return to sustainable peace and the cessation of military operations to commence before the start of the release of the hostages and the terrorists between the two sides, with the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
State Dept. Spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked at a press conference on Monday, “Are you confident that the Israelis have, in fact, signed off and are willing to go along with this?”
Miller said, “We are completely confident. It was an Israeli proposal. Obviously, it was a proposal that they developed in consultation with the United States and Qatar and Egypt, the three countries that have played the mediating role throughout this process. But this was ultimately an Israeli proposal.”
“In terms of where it stands, it was submitted to Hamas on Thursday night. … but we haven’t gotten a response back from them,” Miller said.
In that regard, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said: “The Security Council must insist that Hamas accept the deal… Council members should not let this opportunity pass by. We must speak with one voice in support of this deal.”
And then let’s sit back and watch joyously as Netanyahu’s government falls apart, new elections are declared in Israel, and the extreme left retakes government, possibly with help from the Arab parties.
Scene.
