Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Kirya in Tel Aviv./Eti Beit-On, PM
Russia and China vetoed today (Friday) a proposed American resolution in the UN Security Council which states that "it is important to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which will be linked to the release of all the abductees held by Hamas".
why is it important:
This was the fourth time since the beginning of the war that the members of the UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement on the wording of a draft resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, mainly due to large differences between the positions of the US, Russia and China regarding the conditions of such a cease-fire.
The proposed American resolution linked the ceasefire with the release of the abductees and included condemnation of Hamas, while Russia and China demand an unconditional ceasefire and are not prepared to condemn Hamas.
United Nations Security Council/image processing, Mike Segar
In the news center:
12 of the member states of the Security Council voted in favor of the proposed American resolution, 2 states voted against and one state abstained.
The big picture:
The vote in the Security Council took place against the background of the negotiations taking place in Doha between representatives of Israel, Hamas, Egypt, Qatar and the USA on an agreement to release the abductees in exchange for a six-week ceasefire.
The head of the CIA Bill Burns, the head of the Mossad Dedi Barnea, the prime minister of Qatar and the head of Egyptian intelligence are expected to join the talks tonight that will continue over the weekend.
A short time before the start of the Security Council debate, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the members of the War Cabinet, and discussed with them the efforts to obtain a deal for the release of the abductees and other issues related to the war in Gaza.
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