According to IRNA reporter from the UN headquarters, the resolution was approved without opposition or veto by its permanent and non permanent members except one abstention by Russia on Monday afternoon local time (June 10).
In Security Council Resolution 2735, which has seven paragraphs, recalls all relevant resolutions regarding the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, and emphasizes the need of continued diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States in achieving a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza.
The US claims the new ceasefire proposal announced on May 31 has been accepted by Israel and that Hamas should accept it as well, while calls on both sides to fully implement its terms without delay in the three phases.
The resolution, which in the first phase, calls for an initial six-week ceasefire and the exchange of some Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails also includes the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes, including in the north, as well as the safe and effective distribution of large-scale humanitarian aid throughout Gaza.
The second phase would include a permanent ceasefire and the release of the remaining captives and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third phase would involve a reconstruction effort for the devastated Gaza Strip and the return of the bodies of all dead hostages still in Gaza to their families.
The approved resolution emphasizes the importance of the parties adhering to the terms of the proposal after the agreement and asks all UN member states to support its implementation.
The resolution rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any measures that reduce the size of Gaza.
US President Joe Biden announced on May 31 during his election campaign that Israel presented a new proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, which was presented to Hamas through Qatar. And he asked the parties not to miss this opportunity and reach an agreement on this proposal.
Despite Biden’s claim, some Israeli officials have since promised to continue the war until the elimination of Hamas. The Zionist regime has also intensified its bloodshed since then in defiance of the US president statement, an international outcry and most importantly against a ruling by the International Court of Justice that called on the regime to immediately halt its invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and allow unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Hundreds more Palestinian civilians have been martyred in Israel’s indiscriminate bombing and shelling across Gaza, Rafah in particular, over the past couple of weeks, raising the overall death toll from the Israeli genocide in Gaza to over 37,100 and and the number of wounded has reached 83074 since October 7, 2023.
EU hails US-backed Gaza plan
The EU foreign policy chief has welcomed the approval of a draft resolution at the UN Security Council to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza and demanded its immediate implementation.
According to IRNA's Tuesday morning report, Josep Borrell in a message on his X social media (former account wrote: “We recall our full support to the 3-pahse roadmap of the President of the United States and urge both parties to accept and implement it.”
In his post, Borrell further said in his post that “the European Union welcomes the adotion of the UNSC resolution 2735, supporting the proposal announced on 31 May.”
US pressure tactic on Hamas
The US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield tried to apply Washington’s trick after the approval of the resolution to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, saying “the war will stop if Hamas accepts the agreement on the table.”
Greenfield claimed that Israel has already agreed to this proposal but fell short of mentioning why the Zionist regime keeps going with its genocidal campaign if it had endorsed the US plan.
Without referring to Washington's support for Israel’s more than 8-month war and vetoing of a number of ceasefire resolution in recent months, Greenfield claimed: We voted for peace today, and the Security Council and the countries of the region and the world have approved this resolution.
UK: US-backed plan important step forward
Meanwhile, The United Kingdom, as usual, has hailed its traditional ally the United States for putting forth a draft resolution on the Gaza peace plan that was voted by the UN Security Council.
British ambassador and representative to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, whose country also voted for the US resolution called it “an important step to end the Gaza war”.
"The situation in Gaza is catastrophic," the British ambassador acknowledged without referring to the military and financial aid by the West, especially the US, to the Zionist regime for its ongoing bloodshed and genocide in Gaza.
Russia: Many questions remain unanswered
However, Russian Ambassador to the UN whose country abstained in during the voting on the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan said Moscow had many questions regarding the new move.
“We have a whole host of questions about the American draft resolution, whereby this Council welcomes some deal, the ultimate outlines of which are not known to anyone, perhaps, except the mediators,” Vassily Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council during a meeting on Palestine and Israel.
“We did not want to block the resolution because as far as we know the Arab world supports it, but we have several questions about the resolution proposed by Washington”, he added.
Nebenzia continued by saying that Russia always has a positive attitude towards any diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Gaza war.
He emphasized: "We are not sure of the stance of the Zionist regime regarding the ceasefire resolution" and said that the Security Council should not have endorsed the motion with ambiguous components.
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