UN adopts US resolution on Gaza peace plan

The United Nations Security Council has voted in favour of a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan.

Thirteen countries on the 15-member body voted in favour of the document which establishes a transitional authority in Gaza - called the Board of Peace - and an international stabilisation force.

Russia and China abstained.

After the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz thanked the council for "joining us in charting a new course in the Middle East for Israelis and Palestinians and all the people of the region alike".

"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.

"I say this to the world, this resolution today is just the beginning," he said, "adoption…demonstrates the overwhelming support for the President's vision for a stable Gaza where Palestinians determine their own destiny free from terrorist rule and violence, and under President Trump's bold leadership, the United States will continue to deliver results alongside our many partners".

Mr Trump hailed the UN Security Council's vote in favour of his Gaza peace plan, claiming it would lead to "further Peace all over the World."

The vote was "acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me," he wrote on social media.

"This will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations (and) will lead to further Peace all over the World."

Today’s result follows weeks of intense diplomatic efforts on the part of US officials.

After representations from other council members, the text was altered to include language referencing a "credible path" to Palestinian statehood.

That eventuality has been firmly rejected by Israel.

"Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting yesterday.

The Palestinian Authority issued a statement backing the US-drafted resolution.

Gaza's Hamas rulers said they rejected the UN resolution, saying it fails to respect the "demands and rights" of the Palestinians.

"This resolution does not meet the level of our Palestinian people's political and humanitarian demands and rights," the Islamist militant group said in a statement.

The statement also decried the establishment of an international force whose "mission includes the disarmament" of Palestinian groups in Gaza.

"The resolution imposes an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip, which our people, its forces, and its constituent groups reject," the statement continued.

Last week, Russia tabled a rival resolution that challenged US efforts.

But on Friday, the Palestinian Authority along with several Arab nations threw their support behind the US text, paving the way for today’s vote.

Yesterday, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his government’s opposition to Palestinian statehood, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions rejected the proposed presence of an international stabilisation force, saying it would be exchanging Israeli occupation for "foreign guardianship".

Gaza has been largely reduced to rubble from Israeli bombardment after two years of fighting, sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, while Israeli attacks have killed at least 67,000 people in that time, according to health officials.

The latest version of the text authorises the creation of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly-trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarise Gaza.

The ISF also would work on the "permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups", protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.

In addition, it would authorise the formation of a "Board of Peace", a transitional governing body for Gaza which Mr Trump would theoretically chair, with a mandate running until the end of 2027.

Russian objections

Veto-wielding Russia had circulated a competing draft, saying the US document does not go far enough towards backing the creation of a Palestinian state.

Russia's text asks the Council to express its "unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution".

It does not authorise a Board of Peace or the deployment of an international force for the time being, instead asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to offer "options" on those issues.

The US had intensified its campaign to earn support for its resolution, hitting out at "attempts to sow discord" among Council members.

Read more:
US and several Arab states urge 'swift adoption' of UN Gaza resolution

"Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict," US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz wrote in The Washington Post.

The US has made known that it has the backing of several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, publishing a joint statement of support for the text signed by Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey.

Several diplomats said that despite Russian criticism and hesitance on the part of other member states, they expect the US draft to be adopted.

"The Russians know that while a lot of Council members will go along with the US plans, they share concerns about the substance of the US text and the way Washington has tried to fast-track it through New York," Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said.

Additional reporting AFP