The US is looking to bolster support for President Joe Biden’s Gaza cease-fire proposal and hostage deal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East this week for negotiations, and the Biden administration successfully convinced the UN Security Council to back the proposal on Monday.
The US-drafted UNSC resolution urges both Israel and Hamas “to fully implement” the terms of the proposal “without delay and without condition.” Though they often use their vetoes to tank US-backed resolutions, China voted in favor and Russia abstained. While this ramps up diplomatic pressure, there are still major obstacles to the truce becoming a reality.
Though Washington says the plan was put forward by Israel and that it’s up to Hamas to accept it, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to formally embrace it.
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s fragile coalition vocally oppose the plan. But Bibi also faces ongoing pressure from the Israeli public to reach a deal to bring more hostages home, even after four were rescued over the weekend, and this plan offers a path to get that done.
For now, Netanyahu continues to say that the war won’t end until Hamas is destroyed, but we’ll be watching to see if he changes course.
