US lays out hostage deal details in expanded UNSC resolution

The United States laid out details of the three-phase hostage deal it is promoting in an expanded version of a Security Council resolution, which could come to a vote as early as Monday.​

“It is important that the United Nations Security Council speak with one voice on this,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Thursday.

“We have this rare opportunity to reach an immediate ceasefire that ultimately could lead to an end to this war. And so we want to see the Security Council act. We want to see it act as soon as possible,” he said.

He dismissed the significance of reports that Israel could be opposed to elements of the text, explaining there are often back-and-forth discussions with UNSC members and concerned nations before a text comes to the UNSC floor for a vote.

Israel not a UNSC member...​

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US lays out hostage deal details in expanded UNSC resolution

“We have this rare opportunity to reach an immediate ceasefire that ultimately could lead to an end to this war," Matthew Miller told reporters.

m.jpost.com

 

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***Update:

Israel rejects Security Council resolution in support of its own hostage deal offer​

Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan informed his US counterpart Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Thursday that Jerusalem opposes the Security Council resolution being advanced by Washington that expresses support for the hostage-ceasefire proposal Israel made last week.

The opposition is not expected to influence the vote, which could take place as early as Monday, given that Israel is not a member of the Security Council. However, the resistance from Jerusalem is likely to irk the United States, given that the latter has repeatedly blocked initiatives at the Security Council deemed hostile to the Jewish state.

More substantial pushback could still come from permanent Security Council members Russia and China, which have been known to veto US resolutions, including ones pertaining to the Israel-Hamas war.

Explaining Erdan’s opposition, an official in the Israeli mission pointed out that an updated version of the resolution refers to the hostage deal as one that will bring about a “ceasefire,” as opposed to the original draft that described the end goal as a “cessation of hostilities,” which Israel reads as less permanent in nature.

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Israel rejects Security Council resolution in support of its own hostage deal offer

Erdan opposes changes to wording in US initiative; pushback sure to irk Washington but unlikely to impact outcome given that Israel is not a member of the top panel

www.timesofisrael.com