On Thursday, Barak Ravid tweeted that an updated US draft security council resolution had been submitted which compels Hamas to accept the proposal for a hostage deal, which Israel had already accepted.
Last Friday, President Biden presented a ceasefire deal he insisted was an Israeli proposal, and included ending the war in Gaza, allowing displaced Gazans to move back to the northern part of the Strip, and investing billions in rebuilding Gaza without removing Hamas from the picture.
On the Saturday that followed, Netanyahu rejected Biden’s call for a permanent ceasefire before the complete annihilation of Hamas, stressing that “Israel’s conditions for ending the war remain steadfast,” and making Biden look like a liar.
As a result, the White House has decided to double down on the same proposal, never mind if it came from the Israelis or not, and on Monday, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced that she was seeking the support of the Security Council for a revamped ceasefire deal, stating, “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.”
“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,” she added.
Israel’s UN delegation expressed concern over the new draft resolution, particularly due to a clause that states council members “emphasize the importance of the parties’ adherence to the [Biden] plan once agreed upon and call on all member states and the United Nations to support its implementation.”
The clause also notes that “the council rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including actions aimed at restricting its area through the de facto or de jure establishment of buffer zones.”
Essentially, the US is seeking the Security Council’s endorsement of the Biden administration’s plan for the Gaza Strip. If Hamas agrees to the plan, Israel would not be able to rely on an American veto at the UN going forward to block implementation of the plan’s terms.
Here is the revamped draft resolution, which, clearly, could not possibly have been written in Jerusalem:
Phase 1: a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that includes the release of hostages, particularly women, elderly and wounded individuals. It also calls for the return of remains of hostages who have been killed, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza, allowing Arab civilians to return to their homes in Gaza, as well as ensuring safe and large-scale distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip to all Arab civilians in need.
Phase 2: upon agreement of the parties, a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. (In Biden’s proposal last Friday, phase 2 comes 42 days after phase 1 ends – DI).
Phase 3: the start of a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of more dead hostages still in Gaza to their families.
With this latest resolution, the US has taken off the gloves, removed the masks, and stood firmly in favor of letting Hamas survive to fight another day. And by fighting another day I mean resuming its attacks on Israeli settlements around the Gaza Strip until, eventually, Hamas would extend its missile range to the Tel Aviv area, culminating in the next October 7.
This is a good place to wish everyone a peaceful Shabbat and a joyous Shavuot and recite with conviction the words of Rabbi Eliezer the Great who said (Sota 49a-b):
From the day the Second Temple was destroyed, the generations have deteriorated. Scholars become teachers for children, and teachers become cantors, and cantors become ignoramuses, and even the ignoramuses are diminished, and none are asking and none are seeking. In this sad state of affairs, upon whom can we rely? Only upon our Father in Heaven.
Don’t forget, Rabbi Eliezer the Great was our last sage who had prophecy, so, it stands to reason that he had a reliable source.
