UN Security Council Passes Gaza Ceasefire Resolution...

...with absolutely no mention of Hamas, freeing Gilad Shalit, or a specific direction to Hamas to stop firing missiles at Israel.

The full text of Resolution 1860 is here.

The vote was 14-0, with the US abstaining.Condi Rice had reportedly assured the Israelis that the US would veto this,but apparently she took the opportunity to stick it to Israel one last time.

The US abstained from voting because it wanted to see the outcome of Egyptian mediation efforts first, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. Despite the abstention, Rice said the United States supported the contents of the resolution.

"The Security Council has provided a road map for a sustainable, durable peace in Gaza," Rice added.

"The United States thought it important to see the outcomes of the Egyptian mediation efforts in order to see what this resolution might have been supporting," she said. Earlier, Rice stressed that IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is still being held by Hamas and must be released.

Except the resolution doesn't say that...so Rice is either clueless or lying.

What is does say...and remember, the word 'Hamas' does not even appear in the document.. is quite revealing.

Resolution 1860 "stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable, and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza." and requires Israel to fully withdraw from the Strip after a complete ceasefire goes into effect in the area.

Since Hamas isn't even mentioned, that means that they can start shooting rockets at Israel the day after the IDF leaves..after all,they're not bound by anything.

The document's next three clauses talk about unimpeded shipments of food, fuel and medical supplies to Gaza,and requires UN members to up their contributions to UNRWA,the Palestinian's own private UN agency. The Israelis,in other words, are not only required to allow the UN to resupply Israel's enemies but to help pay the tab.

The next bit "condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism" which of course only applies to Israel, since Hamas isn't mentioned.There any penalties mentioned if Hamas refuses to abide by it and since there is no real mechanism to make Hamas respect this, only Israel is affected.

The resolution than goes on to call for member states to "intensify efforts to provide arrangements and guarantees in Gaza in order to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm, including to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the sustained reopening of crossing points on the basis of the 2005 Agreement" ...which I'm sure Iran and Syria will respect,just as they did the 2005 agreement under which Israel originally left Gaza. An dI'm sure th e Egyptians will do th esame job of preventing iranian arms from being shipped to Hamas through the tunnels.

Finally, it throws kisses at the Two-State solution and the Saudi peace ultimatum and fades out.The coupling of the two is important - it essentially endorses the Saudi plan,which involves Israel giving up the Golan and all of Judea and Samaria as well as half of Jerusalem..and then admitting thousands of genocidal 'refugees into what's left of Israel in exchange for ill-defined 'normal relations' with the Arab League members. At least for the short period of time Israel survives afterwards,which is the whole point of the Saudi plan.

And by the way, according to the Saudis and Mahmoud Abbas, none of this is negotiable.

As for the Israelis,they've been royally screwed..essentially, the UN has passed a resolution against them legitimately defending themselves. If they abide by 1860, Hamas will simply rearm again and resume the war at a time of their choosing.

This is Israel's reward for taking extra time and trouble to try to avoid civilian casualties - the UN expects them to simply withdraw not having achieved their primary war goal, the ending of the menace to Israel's south.

Since Hamas just fired 4 more rockets from inside Gaza City at Beer'sheba,I think the Israelis ought to remark that the ceasefire isn't being implemented yet and continue destroying Hamas as quickly as they can.

There's no upside to them essentially ignoring 1860 until they're done with Hamas,given the UN's general effectiveness. And there's certainly a downside to them abiding by it, a major one.

UPDATE: Israel might just have finally had enough of this hypocrisy. Th egovernment's official line after the Security Council vote is that the United Nations isn't going to dictate when Operation Cast Lead ends:

Jerusalem quickly responded to the decision by saying that no UN resolution
would dictate when Israel would end its operation in Gaza. Senior officials told
Israel Radio early Friday morning that only the achievement of goals defined by
the Security Cabinet would establish the cessation of military activity.

"We are all very conscious that peace is made on the ground while
resolutions are written in the United Nations," British Foreign Secretary David
Miliband said. "Our job here is to support the efforts for peace on the ground
and to help turn the good words on paper into changes on the ground that are
desperately needed."

The agreement was based on a text drafted by
Britain and backed by the US and France - all veto-wielding members of the
Security Council - and amendments by key Arab negotiators including the foreign
ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco and Qatar.

At least Miliband admits the effete nature of the UN.'Good words on paper' indeed...especialy as Israel is supposedly bound by this nonsense while Hamas is not even mentioned.

There is one good thing about this. the Israelis now have an incdentive to finish off Hamas quickly..say by January 20th.