UN Security Council backs US Israel-Gaza ceasefire plan – Newstrends
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UN Security Council backs US Israel-Gaza ceasefire plan

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10 months ago

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UN Security Council

UN Security Council backs US Israel-Gaza ceasefire plan

The United Nations Security Council has voted to support a US-proposed Israel-Gaza ceasefire plan.

The proposal sets out conditions for a “full and complete ceasefire”, the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of dead hostages’ remains and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

Fourteen of the 15 Security Council members voted in favour of the US-drafted resolution. Russia abstained.

The resolution states that Israel has accepted the ceasefire proposal, and urges Hamas to agree to it too.

It means the Security Council joins a number of governments, as well as the G7 group of the world’s richest nations, in backing the three-part plan that was unveiled by President Joe Biden on 31 May. Mr Biden described it then as an Israeli ceasefire proposal.

The vote is likely to increase pressure on both sides to respond positively to the plan with a view to ending the conflict. It also came shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to build support for the peace deal.

Just hours before the UN vote, Mr Blinken said his message to leaders in the region was: “If you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes.”

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The group has previously said it supports parts of the plan, and it released a statement on Monday “welcoming” the Security Council resolution. Hamas is likely to demand guarantees the plan would lead to a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Its political leadership in Doha has yet to formally respond to the proposal, according to US and Israeli officials.

The proposal would end with a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, which has been largely destroyed in the conflict.

The first phase concerns a hostage-prisoner swap as well as a short-term ceasefire.

The second phase includes a “permanent end to hostilities”, as well as a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to a text of the US draft resolution.

The third phase focuses on the enclave’s long-term outlook, and it would start a multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza.

Monday’s resolution comes 10 days after President Biden said the Israelis had agreed to the plan. But Mr Netanyahu has not yet endorsed the US proposal.

While Mr Biden presented the peace initiative as an Israeli one, the US is also aware Israel’s own fractious ruling coalition is approaching the plan with reluctance. This extends to outright opposition by some far-right ministers who are threatening to trigger a collapse of the government if the deal progresses.

The resignation of former general Benny Gantz from the war cabinet on Sunday has deepened that sense of instability.

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President Biden’s account on X, formerly Twitter, noted the passage of the resolution. “Hamas says it wants a ceasefire,” the post said. “This deal is an opportunity to prove they mean it.”

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN, said: “Today we voted for peace”.

UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”, adding that the “suffering has gone on for far too long”.

“We call upon the parties to seize this opportunity and move towards lasting peace which guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people,” Ms Woodward said.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron also welcomed the resolution.

On 25 March, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire.

While the US had previously vetoed similar measures, it did not veto the March resolution. Mr Netanyahu said at the time that the US had “abandoned” its prior position linking a ceasefire to the release of hostages.

The conflict began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 251 people hostage.

The Hamas-run health ministry says the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 37,000 since Israel responded to its attack.

UN Security Council backs US Israel-Gaza ceasefire plan

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Iran warns US against attack, threatens with nuclear weapon

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20 minutes ago

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April 1, 2025

By

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei

Iran warns US against attack, threatens with nuclear weapon

Iran would have no alternative but to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked by the United States or its allies, an adviser to the country’s supreme leader warned on Monday, following a threat by Donald Trump.

The comments came hours after the supreme leader himself, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had promised to hit back if the US president made good on his threat to bomb the Islamic republic if it did not agree to a deal to curb its nuclear programme.

“We are not moving towards (nuclear) weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move towards that because it has to defend itself,” Khamenei’s adviser Ali Larijani said in an interview with state TV.

“Iran does not want to do this, but… (it) will have no choice,” he added.

“If at some point you (the US) move towards bombing by yourself or through Israel, you will force Iran to make a different decision.”

In an interview on Saturday, Trump had said “there will be bombing” if Iran did not agree to a new nuclear deal, according to NBC News, which said he also threatened to punish Tehran with what he called “secondary tariffs”.

Trump’s language represented a sharpening of his rhetoric, though it was not clear whether he was threatening bombing by US planes alone or perhaps in an operation coordinated with another country, possibly Iran’s nemesis Israel.

“They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said of the remarks during a speech on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

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“If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack.”

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, in a post on X, said the threat was “a shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security”.

Baqaei warned of unspecified “consequences” should the United States choose a path of “violence”.

– ‘Glass room’ –

A statement on Monday also said the foreign ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Swiss embassy, which represents Washington’s interests in Iran, “following the threats by the US president”.

“The Americans have at least 10 bases in the region around Iran, and they have 50,000 troops,” warned General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the aerospace force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Someone who is in a glass room shouldn’t throw stones at anyone,” the man in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile programme threatened on state television Monday.

Since taking office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy, which in his first term saw the United States withdraw from a landmark agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

Iran warns US against attack, threatens with nuclear weapon

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‘Bitcoin could replace U.S. Dollar as global currency’

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14 hours ago

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March 31, 2025

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‘Bitcoin could replace U.S. Dollar as global currency’

BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink acknowledged in his 2025 annual letter that Bitcoin could challenge the U.S. dollar’s status as the global reserve currency.

“If the U.S. doesn’t get its debt under control, if deficits keep ballooning, America risks losing that position to digital assets like Bitcoin,” Fink wrote in BlackRock’s March 2025 letter.

The statement marks a significant shift from the head of the world’s largest asset manager, recognizing digital assets as potential alternatives to the dollar.

Throughout the letter, Fink mentioned Bitcoin seven times and the dollar eight times, signaling the growing relevance of digital currencies in financial discourse.

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BlackRock’s letter frames Bitcoin as both an innovation and a risk, warning that if investors view it as a more stable long-term store of value than the dollar, it could undermine U.S. financial primacy.

Fink stressed that “two things can be true at the same time,” referring to both innovation and risk in digital asset development.

Beyond Bitcoin, Fink positioned tokenization as a transformative force for capital markets, likening it to the shift from postal mail to email.

He argued that tokenized assets could bypass financial intermediaries and democratize access to investments through fractional ownership and improved voting systems.

BlackRock also highlighted India’s digital identity system as a model for secure transactions, with over 90% of Indians verifying smartphone transactions—a benchmark for future tokenized economies.

‘Bitcoin could replace U.S. Dollar as global currency’

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Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe

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14 hours ago

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March 31, 2025

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Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe

Israeli police announced on Monday the arrest of two individuals, one of whom was confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party as a senior aide to the long-serving leader.

Israeli media identified the two men as Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, both reportedly aides to the prime minister and allegedly linked to what has been dubbed locally as the “Qatargate Affair.”

The arrests ratchet up political tensions in the country, where the government is trying to fire both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.

The moves have reignited a protest movement in Israel, coinciding with the government’s resumption of fighting this month in the Gaza Strip.

Feldstein had separately been arrested late last year and released to house arrest on accusations of leaking a classified document related to hostage negotiations in Gaza, to shift critical media coverage of the Israeli leader.

Media reports on Monday further indicated that Netanyahu himself is expected to be questioned by police in connection with the Qatargate case .

Netanyahu is separately on trial over corruption allegations that he denies.

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“Following an investigation being conducted by the National Unit for International Investigations (YAHBAL)… two suspects were arrested today for questioning,” the police said in a statement, noting that the case remains under a court-imposed gag order.

– ‘A new low’ –

Israeli media also reported that a journalist from a prominent Israeli publication had been summoned for questioning.

AFP was unable to independently verify the identities of those arrested.

Requests for confirmation from Netanyahu’s office were not immediately answered.

Qatar, a gas-rich Gulf state, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

“The brutal arrest of Yonatan Urich marks a new low in the political witch hunt to topple a right-wing prime minister and to prevent the dismissal of the failed head of the Shin Bet,” said a statement released by Likud.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli government unanimously approved Netanyahu’s proposal to fire the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, Ronen Bar.

The Supreme Court froze Bar’s dismissal and is to hold a detailed hearing on the case April 8.

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Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who faces a similar dismissal, said the top court’s initial ruling prevents the hiring of a new security chief, but Netanyahu did so anyway on Monday.

In its statement on Monday, the Likud party linked the Qatargate investigations to efforts to prevent Bar and Baharav-Miara’s dismissals, saying “for weeks, the prosecution and the head of the Shin Bet have been conducting baseless investigations in the dark under a gag order, trying to prevent the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet while using Urich and others as cannon fodder”.

Earlier this month, the Shin Bet agency announced it had started investigating Netanyahu’s aides in relation to the case, barring the publication of any details.

Bar has accused Netanyahu of “personal interest” in firing him to “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” being looked at by the Shin Bet.

In a letter, Bar referred to the “complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation” involving people close to Netanyahu who allegedly received money from Qatar.

Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe

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