Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The European Union welcomes the UN Security Council resolution supporting a Gaza ceasefire proposal. It emphasises diplomatic efforts and endorses a comprehensive roadmap for lasting peace and Gaza reconstruction.
The European Union has announced that it welcomes the UN Security Council resolution on the latest cease-fire recommendation in Gaza. “The European Union welcomes the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution 2735, supporting the new ceasefire proposal announced on 31 May,” it stated in a statement.
Also calling for the enactment of UN Security Council Resolutions 2728, 2720, and 2712, the statement added.
Is the EU Supporting the Gaza Ceasefire Resolution?
“The EU recalls its full backing to the comprehensive roadmap proposed by United States President Joe Biden. We encourage both parties to accept and implement the three-phase proposal.” It restated that the bloc stands ready to contribute to restoring a political process for a lasting and sustainable peace, based on a two-state solution, and to sustain a coordinated international effort to rebuild Gaza.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution supporting a Gaza cease-fire proposal reported last month by US President Joe Biden. The resolution, presented by the US, got 14 votes in favour at the 15-member Security Council, with Russia abstaining.
How Will the UN Resolution Affect Gaza Ceasefire?
The resolution emphasises the diplomatic efforts led by Egypt, the US, and Qatar, and accommodates Biden’s three-phase proposal presented on May 31. The resolution expresses that Israel has accepted Biden’s proposal and calls on the Palestinian group Hamas to do the exact same and implement it. On May 31, Biden stated that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would cease hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The program includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
What Are the Steps in Biden’s Gaza Proposal?
The first step proposes “immediate, full, and complete ceasefire, the release of hostages including women, the old and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been slain, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, departure of Israeli forces from the populated areas in Gaza, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighbourhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north, as well as the safe and adequate distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout the Gaza Strip to all Palestinian civilians who require it, including housing units delivered by the international community.”
The second includes the freedom of all remaining hostages in Gaza while permanently ending hostiles and “full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.” For the third phase, the resolution suggests a long-term reconstruction plan for Gaza to be started, with the return of the bodies of deceased hostages.
Israel has persisted in its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution urging an immediate cease-fire. More than 37,00 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,000 others wounded, according to local health authorities.
Eight months into the Israeli fighting, vast lots of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling siege of food, clean water, and medicine. Israel stands charged with genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling summoned Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had aimed refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
