WASHINGTON: As the United States asked the United Nations Security Council to endorse its proposal to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, key mediator Qatar on Tuesday pointed out contradictions in the statements of Israeli ministers and said it was waiting for a “clear position” from Tel Aviv on the peace deal outlined by President Joe Biden.

On the other hand, Qatar said there was no concrete approval from Israel or Hamas on the ceasefire deal. “We have yet to see a very clear position from the Israeli government towards the principles laid out by President Biden,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.

“We have read and seen the contradictory statements coming in from Israeli ministers, which doesn’t give us much confidence of there being a unified position in Israel over this current proposal on the table,” he said. “We haven’t seen any statements on both sides that give us a lot of confidence,” he added.

The official later said Doha had received an “Israeli proposal which reflects the positions stated by President Biden” and is “much closer” to meeting the conditions of both Israel and Hamas. “We have delivered the proposal to the Hamas side,” Mr Ansari said, adding that Qatar is making its “best efforts to finalise an agreement”.

US president calls out Netanyahu for prolonging war, then backpedals; mediators say Tel Aviv has no clear position on Biden’s peace plan

UNSC endorsement sought

Separately, the US urged the 15-member council to adopt a resolution supporting the Gaza ceasefire proposal presented by President Joe Biden last week.

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For the resolution to pass, it requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes from the US, France, Britain, China, or Russia. The draft resolution aims to end the nearly eight-month war in Gaza, free all prisoners, and send substantial aid into the devastated Palestinian territory.

“Voting cannot be scheduled yet, as the US has asked for comments until today (Tuesday) before the council takes further action,” a senior UN diplomat told Dawn.

In a statement issued by the US mission to the UN, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States has circulated a new draft to end the fighting in Gaza through a ceasefire deal.

“Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan, and we call on the Security Council to join them in calling for the implementation of this deal without delay and without further conditions,” she said.

According to the US envoy, “Swift implementation of this deal would enable an immediate ceasefire, the release of [prisoners], the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in its first phase, an immediate surge in humanitarian assistance, and the restoration of basic services.”

Biden blames Netanyahu

In a rather bizarre series of events, US President Joe Biden first accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of stalling on ending the war in Gaza for political reasons, but later backtracked from his stance.

Asked whether he thought Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political reasons, he told Time Magazine: “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

The US president, who has been pushing for an end to the nearly eight-month war, also said it was “uncertain” whether Israeli forces have committed war crimes in Gaza.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer, when asked about the interview, said it was “outside the diplomatic norms of every right-thinking country” for Joe Biden to make such comments about Netanyahu.

But later on Tuesday, he appeared to play down the remark, saying: “I don’t think so, he’s trying to work out this serious problem he has,” when asked if Netanyahu was “playing politics.”

The US leader admitted, however, in the earlier interview that there were wider tensions with Netanyahu, saying they had a “major disagreement” over the post-conflict future of Gaza.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2024