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President Joe Biden intends to propose a resolution at the United Nations Security Council, urging for a temporary “ceasefire” and calling on Israel to refrain from targeting the remaining Hamas battalions in Gaza, which are considered crucial to winning the conflict.
Israel has maintained its stance that it must target Hamas in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza bordering Egypt, in order to achieve victory in the conflict. Rafah serves as the last stronghold of the Palestinian terrorist organization and serves as a crucial point for smuggling routes into and out of Gaza.
Despite Israel’s assurances of developing a plan for civilian evacuation, the White House has publicly stated its opposition to an Israeli operation in Gaza, particularly targeting Rafah.
This opposition persists even after a successful Israeli rescue operation last Monday, which liberated two Israeli civilians held hostage in Rafah. It appears evident that President Biden’s strategy involves allowing Hamas to persist as a means to pressure Israel into accepting a Palestinian state.
While the U.S. has pledged to veto a resolution proposed by Algeria, set to be introduced on Tuesday, calling for a permanent ceasefire, reports suggest that the U.S. is drafting an alternative resolution that includes the term “ceasefire” in a temporary context.
NEW: Last night @USUN shared its own #UNSC draft resolution on #Gaza with like minded countries. In OP3, #US draft text "determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into #Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement… pic.twitter.com/5RwgwzPU0j
— Rami Ayari (@Raminho) February 19, 2024
The Times of Israel noted:
The United States has proposed a rival draft of the United Nations Security Council resolution that would underscore the body’s “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable,” according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday.
Washington has been averse to the word “ceasefire” in any UN action on the Israel-Hamas war, but the US draft text echoes language that US President Joe Biden said he used last week in conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US draft text also “determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries.”
The Biden administration has refrained from clarifying if the resolution’s language opposing an attack on Hamas in Rafah would carry binding authority.
Hamas has reiterated its demand for a permanent ceasefire as a precondition for releasing the remaining 134 Israeli hostages. The Biden administration’s pursuit of a temporary ceasefire effectively endorses this demand, aiming for a broader cessation of hostilities, despite the likelihood of Hamas’s continued existence.
Regarding Hamas’s potential role in a future Gaza government, the administration has avoided stating its position definitively.
