US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged Hamas to accept the proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal which was outlined by President Joe Biden.
Speaking to Ari Shapiro on the NPR program “All Things Considered”, Thomas-Greenfield welcomed the UN Security Council’s approval of a US-drafted resolution backing the proposal and calling on Hamas to accept it.
“This resolution sent a very clear, strong, unified message to Hamas that they accept the ceasefire deal that we put on the table and end this war immediately - accept the deal, release the hostages, more aid will flow in to Palestinians. And this ceasefire will continue as long as negotiations continue, so it was a welcomed resolution,” she said.
Thomas-Greenfield added that “we did see some public statements that Hamas welcomed the resolution. But if they can say that they welcome the resolution, what we want to hear from them is that they accept the resolution, that they formally accept the deal, and they're ready to move forward. The resolution is the reflection of the deal.”
Asked about Biden’s statements that Israel has agreed to the deal, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments on it have not been as clear, the Ambassador replied, “The president has been clear that Israel accepted the ceasefire deal. They have accepted the resolution.”
When Shapiro pressed Thomas-Greenfield as to why Netanyahu has not said that Israel backs the deal, she replied, “He hasn't said it, for reasons that I can't get into here, but the conversations between the president and Netanyahu, and Secretary Blinken and Netanyahu, [have] been clear that they accept this resolution. They are ready to move forward. They want to see the hostages released, and they want to see peace occur along their borders. And they are working with us on this.”
Asked whether she believes the vote in the Security Council was purely symbolic, or whether the ceasefire deal is actually going to happen, Thomas-Greenfield replied, “You know, it's going to happen. It's something that we have worked on for eight months. Our people have been working on the ground 24/7, working with the Qataris, working with the Egyptians to bring this to fruition. And it has the support of countries in the region. It has the support of countries who have hostages. It has the support of the G7. We have never been this close. And ultimately, this deal will lead to the end of the war in a manner that ensures Israel's security but brings immediate relief to civilians in Gaza.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shavuot in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)