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The United Nations Security Council on Monday approved a U.S. plan for Gaza that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in the devastated territory and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.
Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote. The U.S. and other countries had hoped Moscow would not use its veto power on the UN’s most powerful body to block the resolution’s adoption.
The vote was a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza’s future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Arab and other Muslim countries that expressed interest in providing troops for an international force had signaled that Security Council authorization was essential for their participation.
The U.S. resolution endorses President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, which calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head. It also authorizes the stabilization force and gives it a wide mandate, including overseeing the borders, providing security and demilitarizing the territory. Authorization for the board and force expire at the end of 2027.
For its part, Hamas rejected the United Nations Security Council passing the U.S.-drafted resolution, saying it fails to meet Palestinians’ rights and demands. According to the group, the resolution imposes an international trusteeship on Gaza — something Hamas says Palestinians don’t support.
“Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favour of the occupation,” the group said.
Palestinian statehood considered
During nearly two weeks of negotiations on the U.S. resolution, Arab nations and the Palestinians had pressed the United States to strengthen the original weak language about Palestinian self-determination.
The U.S. revised it to say that after the Palestinian Authority — which now governs parts of the West Bank — makes reforms and after redevelopment of the devastated Gaza Strip advances, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
“The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” it said.
U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators signed a deal to end the war in Gaza on Monday following the release of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages and 2,0000 freed Palestinian prisoners.
That language angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed Sunday to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state.
He has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.
A key to the resolution’s adoption was support from Arab and Muslim nations pushing for a ceasefire and potentially contributing to the international force.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations distributed a joint statement Friday with Qatar, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey calling for “swift adoption” of the U.S. proposal.
Russia floated its own plan
The vote took place amid hopes that Gaza’s fragile ceasefire would be maintained.
Israel’s more than two-year offensive has killed over 69,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority are women and children. The offensive was set off by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.
Prime Minister Mark Carney praised the U.S. backed peace deal in Gaza, praising architects Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He said Canada will continue its humanitarian aid and that there are ‘other mechanisms’ to play a role in Gaza’s future.
Russia last week suddenly circulated a rival proposal with stronger language supporting a Palestinian state alongside Israel and stressed that the West Bank and Gaza must be joined as a state under the Palestinian Authority.
It also stripped out references to the transitional board and asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to provide options for an international force to provide security in Gaza and for implementing the ceasefire plan, stressing the importance of a Security Council role.
What else is in the U.S. proposal?
The U.S. resolution calls for the stabilization force to ensure “the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip” and “the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.” A big question is how to disarm Hamas, which has not fully accepted that step.
It authorizes the force “to use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate” in compliance with international law, which is UN language for the use of military force.
The resolution says the stabilization troops will help secure border areas, along with a Palestinian police force that they have trained and vetted, and they will co-ordinate with other countries to secure the flow of humanitarian assistance. It says the force should closely consult and co-operate with neighbouring Egypt and Israel.
As the international force establishes control and brings stability, the resolution says Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza “based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization.”
These must be agreed to by the stabilization force, Israeli forces, the U.S. and the guarantors of the ceasefire, it said.
