Here’s a Look at the U.N.-Backed Plan to Stop the
War in Gaza.
The Security Council can’t force anyone to adopt the
plan, but its passage of a resolution backing it increases pressure on both
sides to make a deal.
Matthew
Mpoke Bigg
By Matthew
Mpoke Bigg
June 11,
2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-cease-fire-plan.html
The United
Nations Security Council on Monday endorsed a cease-fire plan for the Gaza
Strip that is backed by the United States, adding weight to an international
effort to end the eight-month war. Neither Israel nor Hamas has publicly
accepted the plan, but Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Tuesday held
talks in the region to press for its adoption.
Here’s a
look at how the cease-fire would work, and at some of the areas of dispute
between the warring parties.
What is in the plan?
The plan
would unfold in three phases.
Under phase
one, there would be a six-week cease-fire and the release of hostages who are
older or wounded, or who are women, as well as the return of the remains of
some people who died in Gaza while in captivity. In exchange, Palestinian
prisoners would be released from Israeli jails.
Israeli
forces would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza, and more humanitarian aid
would be distributed in the enclave. Civilians, most of whom have been
displaced, would be free to return to their homes, including in northern Gaza,
an area devastated by Israeli airstrikes and fighting.
As all of
this happens, talks over a permanent cease-fire would continue, with the goal
of reaching phase two: the full withdrawal of Israel’s military, the return of
all hostages and the freeing of more Palestinian prisoners.
In phase
three, the bodies of all the remaining hostages who had died would be returned
to Israel, and the reconstruction of Gaza would begin.
Crucially,
the cease-fire would be extended after the initial six weeks if no agreement on
phase two had been reached, according to a report of the Security Council’s
proceedings on the website of the United Nations. In this way, the plan could,
in theory, lead to an end to hostilities.
What did the Security Council call for?
The
resolution passed by the Security Council urges both Israel and Hamas to
implement the terms of the plan fully “without delay and without condition.” It
summarizes the plan and puts an emphasis on the provision that “if negotiations
take longer than six weeks for phase one, the cease-fire will continue as long
as negotiations continue.”
The Council
alone can’t force anyone to adopt the plan, and the United Nations is not
involved in the cease-fire talks. But the passage of the resolution — 14
members of the Council approved it, and one abstained — increases pressure on
both sides to make a deal and potentially strengthens Washington’s hand.
What are Israel’s concerns?
Many
details of the plan remain unresolved, not least the length of the cease-fire
and the future role of Hamas.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel will fight until
Hamas’s governing and military capabilities are destroyed. An Israeli
government official on Tuesday appeared to offer a cautious welcome to the
proposal, saying it would enable the government to achieve its ends.
“Israel
will not end the war before achieving all its war objectives,” the official
said, adding that these include eliminating Hamas and ensuring that Gaza cannot
threaten Israel.
Talks over
phases two and three of the plan would, as laid out, appear to involve Hamas.
This implies that the armed group would retain some measure of control in Gaza,
something Mr. Netanyahu says is a red line. He has also ruled out a governing
role for the Palestinian Authority, a fierce Hamas rival that has limited
governing powers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Israeli
prime minister is facing pressure from the United States and other allies to
end the war, but two far-right partners in his governing coalition have
threatened to bring down his government should Israel agree to a deal that
would end the war without eliminating Hamas.
What does Hamas say?
Many Gazans
say they are desperate for an end to the war, but analysts say that Hamas is
not responsive to the wishes of the enclave’s civilians. Political experts say
that the group’s leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, its top leader in Gaza, may
be in no hurry to end the conflict. For one thing, they know that their
leverage will diminish once they agree to release the hostages.
The group’s
negotiators have said that they would not approve an agreement that does not
provide for a permanent cease-fire, a total withdrawal of Israeli troops and a
“serious and real deal” to exchange Palestinian prisoners for hostages.
A senior
Hamas official, Husam Badran, said that the group had “dealt positively” with
the new proposal despite “no clear and public stance” from the Israeli
government. And he pushed back on Secretary of State Blinken’s statement that
the onus of accepting the plan was on Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu is “the sole
obstacle” to an agreement to end the war, Mr. Badran said in a text message.
What happens next?
In the
immediate term, Mr. Blinken is pressing on with regional talks aimed at
securing assent for the plan. On Wednesday he is set to go to Qatar, which has
played a key role as a mediator.
So far it
appears that both sides have seen value in offering tentative support to the
proposal without definitively backing it and, at the same time, accusing the
other side of dragging its feet.
A
cease-fire could enable momentum to build toward an end to the war, but it
appears unlikely that talks to reach phase two of the plan could be resolved
quickly.
Adam Rasgon
and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting
Matthew
Mpoke Bigg is a London-based reporter on the Live team at The Times, which
covers breaking and developing news. More about Matthew
Mpoke Bigg
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