UN approves US plan authorizing an international stabilization force in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. 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 United Nations’ 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.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz called the resolution “historic and constructive,” saying it starts a new course in the Middle East.

“Today’s 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,” he said. He stressed that the resolution “is just the beginning.”

Stronger language on Palestinian state helps get the US plan over the finish line

During nearly two weeks of negotiations on the U.S. resolution, Arab nations and the Palestinians had 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.”

“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.

That language angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had vowed 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 had floated its own plan

The vote took place amid hopes that Gaza’s fragile ceasefire would be maintained after a war set off by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people. 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.

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 U.N. 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 the US proposal says

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 U.N. 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 coordinate with other countries to secure the flow of humanitarian assistance. It says the force should closely consult and cooperate with neighboring 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 says.