Semafor Signals
What the UN Security Council’s backing of the US-led Gaza ceasefire plan means
Insights from The Washington Post, Reuters, and Haaretz
The News
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the world was waiting for Hamas’ leader to respond after the United Nations Security Council voted for a resolution tabled by Washington backing a ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza.
The first resolution endorsing a ceasefire plan calls for Israel and Hamas to accept the three-stage deal that was presented by US President Joe Biden last month. Blinken’s comments came as the UN Human Rights Council said that possible war crimes had been committed by both Israeli and Palestinian combatants in relation to Israel’s operation to rescue four hostages from Gaza over the weekend.
SIGNALS
Israel has agreed in principle to deal
The US says the onus is on Hamas to accept the deal, since Israel has already agreed to the ceasefire’s terms. On Tuesday Reuters reported that a senior Hamas official had accepted the plan but Washington is still waiting for word from the militant group’s leadership. While Israel has agreed in principle, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly opposed certain aspects of the plan, including the staging of a withdrawal of forces from Gaza and recognition of a formal Palestinian state. “Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations, which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time,” an Israeli representative told The Washington Post.
Netanyahu likely wants to end the war
Despite his public objections, Netanyahu is likely considering his options to end the war, Haaretz journalist Anshel Pfeffer wrote. It’s unlikely that the US-backed plan will be agreed to anytime soon, he noted, but it is still significant: Publicly, Netanyahu has said that “Israel is not considering ending the war until Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are destroyed,” Pfeffer wrote. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the war cabinet he chairs proposed a plan that envisions just that.” The prime minister is recalculating his positions, Pfeffer added, and is trying to keep as many options available to him as possible.
