Russia and China, which hold veto powers in the U.N. Security Council, raised concerns on Thursday with a U.S. draft resolution that would back a proposal - outlined by President Joe Biden - for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The council's only Arab member, Algeria, also signaled it was not ready to back the text, diplomats said. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., France, Britain, China or Russia to pass.
Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip a week ago that he described as an Israeli initiative.
The U.S. is seeking international support for the plan that Hamas is still studying. It circulated a one-page draft resolution to the 15-member U.N Security Council on Monday and a revised version on Wednesday, both seen by Reuters.
The current draft welcomes the ceasefire proposal, describes it as "acceptable" to Israel, "calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."
Russia proposed amendments to the U.S. text, which were seen by Reuters, that included calling upon both Hamas and Israel to accept the proposal and demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire respected by all parties.
Moscow also wants the draft to stress that the phase one ceasefire will remain in place as long as negotiations continue on phase two, reflecting remarks made by Biden last week.
@VOTA1thn1Y
Jika anda terpaksa memilih, adakah anda lebih cenderung untuk memihak kepada advokasi untuk gencatan senjata segera atau memastikan kepentingan negara anda terlebih dahulu terjamin dalam konflik antarabangsa?
@VOTA1thn1Y
Apakah pendapat anda mengenai idea bahawa sesetengah negara mempunyai lebih banyak kawalan ke atas keputusan antarabangsa berbanding yang lain?
