The government of the United States has drafted a United Nations Security Council resolution which is making a case for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip “as soon as practical” and opposing an Israeli ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah.
The draft which was sighted by Africa Today News, New York showed that the Security Council should underscore “its support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practical, based on the formula of all hostages being released” while also “lifting all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale” in Gaza.
The US draft also warns Israel not to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, stressing that: “The Security Council should underscore that such a major ground offensive should not proceed, under the current circumstances.”
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Israel has said it plans to storm Rafah, where more than 1.4 million of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have sought shelter. Those plans have prompted widespread international concern that such a move would kill large numbers of civilians and sharply worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is on the brink of famine, according to the UN.
Algeria, the current Arab member of the Security Council, put forward an initial draft resolution more than two weeks ago, which would demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The Algerian draft resollution was due to be put to a vote on Tuesday. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield previously signalled that it would be vetoed, saying it could jeopardise the “sensitive negotiations” on the captives taken by Hamas and other armed groups from Israel into Gaza on October 7.
The US, Egypt, Israel and Qatar have held negotiations on a potential Israel-Hamas truce and the exchange of captives held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays says Washington’s draft resolution appeared to show a significant change in language.
“For the first time, the US is proposing the word ceasefire. … That is significant because Israel did not want the word ceasefire in any resolution, and now it is the US which is proposing it,” Bays said.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that since the 7th of October, Washington has sought to shield its ally Israel from UN action and has twice vetoed Security Council resolutions. But it has also abstained twice, allowing the council to adopt resolutions that aimed to boost humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza and called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses in fighting.