The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, authorizing a new transitional framework to provide international support for the war-ravaged territory.
The Trump administration's resolution overwhelmingly cleared the 15-nation council in a 13-0 vote on Monday, with permanent members China and Russia abstaining rather than approve or exercise their veto power.
The resolution establishes a temporary International Stabilization Force, or ISF, and a civilian transitional administration for the Gaza Strip called the Board of Peace. Trump indicated he will serve as the board's chair.
The plan, authorized through 2027, builds on the fragile ceasefire brokered after two years of war and envisions ISF overseeing borders, providing security, and demilitarizing territory by ensuring "the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-country armed groups."
The resolution authorizes it "to use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate," which constitutes U.N. language for the use of military force.
The vote came after nearly two weeks of intense negotiation, with Arab nations pressing the U.S. to strengthen language on the political horizon. The final text says that after the reconstruction of Gaza and reforms of the Palestinian Authority, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."
The language was crucial to getting the resolution passed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, restated his opposition to Palestinian statehood, and the resolution provides no timeline or guarantee for an independent nation.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz hailed the adoption as "another significant step towards a stable Gaza," while Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya cited the resolution's lack of clarity and failure to emphatically support Palestinian statehood.
"Thank you for joining us in charting a new course in the Middle East for Israelis and Palestinians all the people of the region alike," Waltz told the council, calling the Trump-led board the "cornerstone of our effort." The resolution does not explicitly authorize Trump to serve as chair, which is a role he has claimed for himself.
Nebenzya said the council's resolution amounted to "giving complete control over the Gaza Strip to the Board of Peace and the ISF, the modalities of which we know nothing about so far." Russia had circulated a rival resolution, threatening to veto the U.S. text until it was swayed by Arab nations' support.
Hamas opposed the resolution, saying that giving ISF a disarmament role "strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation." Israeli forces are to withdraw from Gaza based on measures agreed upon with ISF and other ceasefire guarantors.
A coalition of Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, strongly supported the resolution. Their potential troop contributions hinged on U.N. authorization.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi called the proposal the "last chance" for peace in the region. The resolution calls for the World Bank to allocate financing and establish a dedicated trust fund to reconstruct Gaza.
Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama said lasting peace in the Middle East cannot happen "without justice for the Palestinian people who have waited for decades for the establishment of their independent state."
