JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday hailed Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan after its endorsement by the UN Security Council, as Hamas rejected the resolution which calls for the deployment of an international force in the Palestinian territory.
The United Nations Security Council voted on Monday in favour of a US-drafted resolution bolstering President Trump’s plan for the Gaza Strip -- which has allowed a fragile ceasefire to hold between Israel and Hamas since October 10. There were 13 votes in favour of the resolution and none against, with Russia and China both abstaining but not deploying their veto as permanent members.
The peace plan notably authorises the creation of an international force that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly-trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarise Gaza. Following the vote, Gazans embraced a chance for life to improve, but had little faith that Israel would comply with the resolution. The plan authorises the creation of an International Stabilisation Force that is mandated to work on the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups, protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors. It also authorises the formation of a “Board of Peace”, a transitional governing body for Gaza — which Trump would theoretically chair — with a mandate running until the end of 2027.
The resolution also calls for the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries at scale through the UN, Red Cross and Red Crescent. In convoluted language, the resolution does mention a possible pathway to a future Palestinian state once the Palestinian Authority completes reforms. “The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” it says.
Hamas, which is excluded by the resolution from any governance role in Gaza, said it did not meet Palestinians’ “political and humanitarian demands and rights”. In a statement, the Islamist militant group decried the establishment of an international force and said the resolution imposes “an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip, which our people, its forces, and its constituent groups reject”. Any international force must only be deployed along Gaza’s borders to monitor the ceasefire and under U.N. supervision, Hamas said in a statement, warning that such a force would lose its neutrality if it tried to disarm the militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office hailed Trump’s plan saying it would lead to “peace and prosperity because it insists upon full demilitarisation, disarmament and the deradicalisation of Gaza”. On X, Netanyahu’s office said the plan would also lead to an expansion of the Abraham Accords, under which a few Arab countries have normalised ties with Israel. The European Union’s foreign affairs spokesman, Anouar El Anouni, hailed vote as “an important step” in ending the Gaza conflict, enabling scaled-up aid access and reconstructing the war-battered territory.
China said that it had abstained in the vote because the peace plan due to the ambiguity regarding Palestinian governance of Gaza and the two-state solution. Beijing’s UN Envoy said the draft resolution is “vague on many crucial issues,” including the scope and structure of the multinational force. Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said his country abstained from the vote because the plan sidelines Palestinian participation. The force “would appear to be able to act absolutely autonomously without any regard for the position nor the opinion of Ramallah,” he said. “The main thing is that this document shouldn’t become a fig leaf for unbridled experiments conducted by the US in Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory,” Nebenzia added.
On X, the Palestinian foreign ministry, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the vote affirmed the Palestinian people’s “right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state,” stressing the need for immediate implementation. Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said the resolution “charts a possible pathway for Palestinian self-determination ... where rockets will give way to olive branches and there is a chance to agree on a political horizon. “It dismantles Hamas’ grip, it ensures Gaza rises free from terror’s shadow, prosperous and secure,” Waltz told the council ahead of the vote. President Trump celebrated the vote as “a moment of true Historic proportion” in a social media post. “The members of the Board, and many more exciting announcements, will be made in the coming weeks,” Trump wrote. Trump’s 20-point plan includes a clause saying that Hamas members “who commit to peaceful coexistence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty” and members who wish to leave will be given safe passage to third countries.
Explaining Pakistan’s vote for the Gaza Peace Plan, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, underlined Pakistan’s position on some key elements related to the resolution: First, existing Security Council resolutions on the question of Palestine remain fully valid. This resolution shall not alter or diminish them. Second, the right to self-determination is inherent and unconditional. This right is enshrined in the UN Charter, applies equally to the Palestinian people, and cannot be subjected to any conditions.
Third, as the resolution, and the Peace Plan envisage, the Board of Peace is a transitional oversight mechanism. The mandate granted to the BoP by this Council is temporary and expires in 2027 unless renewed. Importantly, the executive and administrative authority in Gaza must remain with the Palestinians through a Palestinian Committee. Fourth, we reiterate that the role of the Palestinian Authority is absolutely central and critical in this process. A legitimate Palestinian representation is essential for credible governance and genuine Palestinian ownership. Peace cannot be achieved in bypassing the Palestinians.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the passing of a U.S.-backed resolution on Gaza an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire, in a statement sent to reporters. “It is essential now to translate the diplomatic momentum into concrete and urgently needed steps on the ground,” Guterres said in the statement, adding that the U.N. is committed to scaling up humanitarian assistance in Gaza.