UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Trump administration’s blueprint to secure and govern Gaza won strong approval at the United Nations on Monday, a crucial step that provides international support for U.S. efforts to move the devastated territory toward peace following two years of war.
The U.S. resolution that passed the U.N. Security Council authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in Gaza, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by President Donald Trump and to an independent Palestinian state.
“This will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations, will lead to further Peace all over the World, and is a moment of true Historic proportion!†Trump posted on social media.
The vote endorses Trump’s and builds on the momentum of he helped broker with allies. It marks a key next step for American efforts to outline Gaza’s future after war destroyed much of the territory and killed tens of thousands of people.
The proposal calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head. It also provides a wide mandate for the international stabilization force, including overseeing the borders, providing security and demilitarizing the territory. Authorization for the board and force expire at the end of 2027.
Arab and other Muslim countries that expressed interest in providing troops for an international force had signaled that U.N. authorization was .
Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote after fears Moscow might use its veto in the Security Council.
However, Hamas opposed the resolution, saying in a statement that it does not meet the “Palestinian people’s political and humanitarian demands and rights.â€
Stronger language on Palestinian state helps get the US plan over the finish line
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said the resolution “represents another significant step towards a stable Gaza that will be able to prosper and an environment that will allow Israel to live in security.â€
It came about following nearly , when Arab nations and the Palestinians pressed the United States to strengthen language about Palestinian self-determination.
But the proposal still gives no timeline or guarantee for an independent state, only saying it’s possible after advances in the reconstruction of Gaza and reforms of the Palestinian Authority, which now governs parts of the West Bank.
The U.S. revised the resolution to say that after those steps, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.â€
“The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,†it adds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood and at a time when his hard-line governing partners have expressed concern about the resolution’s endorsement of a “pathway†to Palestinian independence.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters before the vote that Israel was grateful to Trump “for leading peace to the Middle East.â€
Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council, thanked Trump for his instrumental role in bringing about the ceasefire, but said “genuine peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without justice, justice for the Palestinian people.â€
A key to the resolution’s adoption was support from Arab and other Muslim nations that had been critical to the ceasefire and potentially could contribute 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’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow took note of that support but abstained because the resolution did not include a role for the Security Council or emphatically support Palestinian statehood.
The vote shores up hopes that Gaza’s fragile ceasefire will be maintained following a war set off by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people. Israel’s 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.
What else the US proposal says
Trump said the members of the Board of Peace will be named in the coming weeks, along with "many more exciting announcements."
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.â€
A big question has been how to disarm Hamas, which said Monday that giving the force a role inside Gaza that includes disarmament “strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation.â€
The resolution authorizes the force “to use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate†in compliance with international law, which is U.N. language for the use of military force.
It says the stabilization troops will help secure border areas, along with a Palestinian police force that they have trained and vetted, and they will coordinate with other countries to secure . It says the force should closely consult and cooperate with neighboring Egypt and Israel.
As the international force establishes control, 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 says.
