end to Israel's 13-day offensive against the Palestinian enclave.
The vote was 14 out of 15 in favor of the resolution with one abstention . The Resolution number is 1860
Earlier Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal told reporters "We have an agreed text,". "We are going to vote on it tonight on the Security Council. This is ... a historic event."
The Saudi Foreign Minister sounded optimistic because , earlier in the evening the United States agreed to back the UN resolution , less than a week after it blocked UN action there. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, signed the draft Security Council resolution after Britain brokered a deal with the Arab nations in New York.
The US decision undercuts Israel’s military operations and has angered Israeli officials, but Washington was under heavy pressure, with Dr Rice in intense talks with British, French and Arab foreign ministers for three days
The Security Council voted on the resolution despite French concerns that the UN action would violate assurances President Sarkozy had given Israel.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he hoped the resolution would "send a very strong signal about the determination of the whole international community" to help the people Gaza and Israel .
Arab countries, many facing strong anti-Israeli sentiment at home, had insisted the Security Council must issue a binding resolution that would force Israel to end its military campaign in the Gaza Strip immediately.
The resolution , which makes no mention of Hamas, “stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza”. It also welcomes the Egyptian peace initiative, but leaves the details to be worked out in further talks.
More than 767 Palestinians and 12 Israelis have been killed in the 13-day offensive aimed at halting rocket attacks from Hamas militants on southern Israel .
Tags: Condoleezza Rice, France, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, US