The United Nations Security Council on Monday approved a resolution inspired by the Gaza peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump, with thirteen votes in favor and abstentions from Russia and China. The multilateral institution's support represents a boost for the Republican and his efforts to cultivate an image as a peacemaker that could earn him a Nobel Peace Prize.
The new Resolution 2803, and the original twenty-point US plan —included in it as an annex—, provide for the establishment of an International Security Force (ISF) in the Gaza Strip that will operate at least until December 2027.
This force will be tasked with securing Gaza's borders with Israel and Egypt. It will also be responsible for protecting civilians and humanitarian corridors within the Gaza Strip, as well as training a future Palestinian police force. However, the resolution does not clarify whether the ISF will implement one of the key points of the peace plan: the disarmament of the radical Palestinian militia Hamas. And if so, how, given the Islamist group's refusal to surrender its weapons.
Several countries that had participated in the peace negotiations leading to the fragile ceasefire agreed last month between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and other nations, had expressed interest in joining the ISF. But to do so, they argued, they needed a United Nations mandate to provide them with a legal basis.
The one country that has definitively ruled itself out of participating in the international force is the United States, whose president is under intense pressure from his own conservative base. This base is demanding that he focus more on domestic issues and become less involved in international conflicts that they perceive as unrelated to Washington's key interests.
In a brief speech following the vote, the US ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, welcomed the resolution, calling it a"significant step towards a stable Gaza."
Immediately before the vote, Waltz had urged a yes vote. “If the most affected region, the Arab nations, the Muslim-majority nations, the Palestinians and the Israelis can accept"This resolution, how can anyone oppose it? There's an old saying from where I come from: 'You can't be more Catholic than the Pope.'"
The resolution also lays the groundwork for the creation of a new transitional government in Gaza through a “peace council” that will oversee the reconstruction of the strip.
The measure is approved in New York one day before the US president receives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.
Trump hopes Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords, a normalization agreement between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries, but Riyadh categorically rejects this possibility until a roadmap for the establishment of a Palestinian state is established. The peace plan does not include a path to this, and Israel makes clear its staunch opposition to any such step, now or in the future.
The text states that “the conditions for a credible path to self-determination and a Palestinian state can finally be in place” once the Palestinian Authority has completed a reform program and the reconstruction of Gaza is well underway.
“The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” the resolution states.
