Jakarta. Indonesia said Tuesday that it took way too long for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza finally. Still, the recent developments have marked an important step to help Palestinians.

The UN Security Council recently adopted a US-sponsored resolution for a ceasefire plan aimed at ending the Gaza war. The resolution sought to reach a ceasefire through a three-phase approach. Fourteen UN Security Council members approved the resolution, while Russia chose to abstain from voting. Indonesia, which has been pushing for a permanent ceasefire, gave its official statement on the long-awaited resolution.

“The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2735 [2024] on the three-phase ceasefire proposal is a long overdue yet an important step to stop the ongoing atrocities against the people of Palestine and towards achieving an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” a statement by the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry reads. 

“Indonesia urges all parties to reach an agreement without delay to ensure a lasting ceasefire, immediate relief for the people of Palestine…” the statement reads.

Indonesia is also urging all parties to pave the way for a two-state solution, which envisions the establishment of a Palestinian state separate from that of Israel. 

In the past, ceasefire resolutions had seen some pushback as the council’s permanent member, the US, had used its veto power to prevent them from being adopted.

The freshly adopted resolution had a three-phase approach. The first one proposes a six-week ceasefire plan while calling for the release of hostages and for Israel to withdraw its forces from populated areas in Gaza.

The second phase will see a permanent end to hostilities in exchange for Israeli forces’ full withdrawal, and the release of the remaining hostages.

The third phase is a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza. But if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for the first phase, the ceasefire will remain in place as long as the talks continue.

Eight months have passed since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023. Al-Jazeera reported Tuesday that the death toll had reached 37,124 people with around 84,712 wounded since then.