Is Israel inclined to endorse the latest UN resolution regarding a ceasefire in Gaza?

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday approved a US-backed ceasefire resolution in the latest diplomatic effort to end Israel's devastating eight-month military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution, which calls for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in three phases, was adopted by all 14 UN Security Council members, with Russia abstaining. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the peace plan on May 31. The Biden administration had previously been criticized for blocking at least three UN Security Council resolutions aimed at ending the war that has left more than 37,000 Palestinians dead and around 85,000 injured. In addition to offering diplomatic protection to its closest ally in the Middle East, the U.S. government also provides weapons and financial aid to Israel, which it accuses of violating international law.

The U.S. abstained from voting on the most recent U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire, adopted in March. But hours after Monday's vote, Israel carried out deadly attacks across the Palestinian enclave, raising questions about whether the latest resolution would lead to a permanent ceasefire. A closer look at the resolution will tell us more:

What is the UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip? The ceasefire is divided into three phases:\

The first phase will involve six weeks of negotiations, during which Israeli prisoners held in Gaza will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. An "immediate, complete and final ceasefire" will come into effect during this phase. In addition, Palestinian citizens will be able to return to all of Gaza, including the north. This phase will also focus on providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need. In addition, Israeli forces will withdraw from "densely populated areas" of Gaza. If negotiations continue beyond the six-week period, the ceasefire will remain in place. The second phase would include a definitive cessation of hostilities, the release of all remaining prisoners, and a "complete withdrawal" of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

The third phase would involve the reconstruction of Gaza over several years and the return of the remains of all deceased prisoners remaining in Gaza. The resolution rejects demographic or territorial changes in gas, “including all actions that reduce the territory of Palestine. The previous project of the Revolution stipulates that this included "buffer zones" in gas, but the language has been modified. Palestinians and activists have expressed fears that Israel is planning to expel Palestinians from Gaza, similar to what happened during the Nakba in the late 1940s, during the creation of Israel.

The Palestinian group welcomed the resolution, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Tuesday. "The US government faces a real test of its commitment to force the occupying forces to immediately end the hostilities in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

Hamas leaders want a permanent end to the war, but Israel has rejected this, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that it will only end the hostilities after Israel "destroys" Hamas and releases the remaining prisoners. Israel's UN envoy Reut Shapir Ben Naftali said the war would not end until Hamas' capabilities were "dismantled," raising questions about whether Israel would abide by the final resolution.

Without such a commitment, the draft resolution "will be very problematic for Hamas," Hassan Barari, a professor of international relations at Qatar University, told press. "Will the Israelis agree to this and accept a permanent ceasefire?"

The resolution states that Israel has accepted Biden's ceasefire proposal of May 31, and "calls on Hamas to accept the proposal as well.

"All statements by the US government imply that this initiative comes from Israel. "There was coordination between the White House and the Israeli government on the resolution," Barari said.

But Israeli leaders have slammed Biden's UN-endorsed peace plan. Israeli website Ynetnews reported that the resolution's wording did not reflect the Israeli-negotiated agreement under which Hamas would no longer govern the Gaza Strip. The website cited an anonymous Israeli official as saying the resolution would limit Israel's freedom of action. Fourteen of the 15 members of the UN Security Council voted in favour of the resolution, including all 10 of its non-permanent members: Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland.

The permanent members – the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France – can veto any resolution. Russia helped pass the resolution by a vote of 14 to 0, by refraining from using its veto. "For us, Palestinian lives are important," said the Algerian representative.

This sentiment was echoed by the Swiss representative, who highlighted the Palestinian lives lost in last week's Israeli attack on Nuseira, where at least 274 Palestinians were killed when Israel stormed a refugee camp to free four prisoners. "The devastating humanitarian situation is beyond words," a Japanese government official said.

The British representative said it was crucial to rapidly scale up humanitarian assistance.

Why did Russia abstain?

Russia abstained saying the wording of the resolution lacked “clarity” and that Moscow was not kept “in the loop”. Vasilly Nevenenja, the UN's Russian ambassador, questioned the exact conditions accepted by Israel.

"The council should not accept the agreement with a wave parameter," he said without developing. What is China's position on this resolution?

The Chinese representative said the draft was "ambiguous" in places, but voted in favor, expressing concern over the widespread deaths of Gazan civilians. He added that China will work to put Israel and Palestine "on the right track" toward a two-state solution.

The international community, including the United States, Israel's main backer, supports two independent states in which Palestinians and Israelis coexist. But Israel continues to build Jewish settlements on Palestinian land, which remains the biggest obstacle to peace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has boasted that he has stalled the Oslo Accords, which called for a freeze on settlements deemed illegal under international law. How is this resolution different from previous UN resolutions regarding the Gaza Strip?

This resolution calls for a "permanent ceasefire," in contrast to previous resolutions which called for a cessation of hostilities. Additionally, previous resolutions have also not emphasised the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The last resolution, which passed on March 25, saw a last-minute change – from “permanent” ceasefire to the vaguer “lasting and sustainable ceasefire” – upon the request of the US, which communicated that the word “permanent” could jeopardise the vote result, Arabic’s Rami Ayari posted on X. Malta's resolution was nominated as an inconsistent UN member and sought to stop hostility within one month from Ramadan.

After the resolution in March, Ambassador Algeria said that it would end a bloody flutter, but since then, more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed, and hundreds of houses have remained abandoned. Is a "permanent ceasefire" possible? The resolution calls on Israel and Hamas to take the necessary steps to achieve a "permanent ceasefire." "The issue here is that the implementation of such a resolution depends on an agreement between Hamas and Israel. I don't think anyone is saying they will fully accept it at this point," Barari said. Hamas wants a "permanent ceasefire," while Israel wants Hamas' destruction as a condition for an end to the war.

"Anyway, the political crisis is Prime Minister Netanyahu's flat refusal to reach an agreement that commits him to an end to the war," said Mairaf Zonsane, a senior Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG). From the International Criminal Court's attorney general seeking arrest warrants against Israeli leaders to the international community declaring Israeli military attacks in Gaza a genocide, the war has tarnished Israel's reputation and worried many Israelis, Zonszein said.

He said he doesn't believe the U.S. has applied enough pressure on Israel or used conditions or aid to change its behavior. “Israel cannot fight a war without the help and support of the United States.