The UN Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution endorsing Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
The text, presented by the United States, would provide a mandate for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) and the establishment of transitional governance there.
The United States says several unnamed countries have offered to contribute to the ISF, although it is unclear whether it would be necessary to ensure that Hamas disarms or functions as a peacekeeping force.
Their formation is a central element of Trump’s 20-point plan that last month brought about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in their two-year war.
The draft also raises the possibility of a Palestinian state, something Israel strongly opposes.
There have been intense negotiations over the draft text of the resolution, with Washington warning that any dissenting vote could lead to a return to fighting with Israel.
In addition to authorizing an FSI, which it says would work with Israel and Egypt – Gaza’s southern neighbor – the draft also calls for the creation of a newly trained Palestinian police in Gaza. Until now, the police have acted under the authority of Hamas.
According to reports on the latest draft, part of the ISF’s role would be to work on the “permanent dismantlement of weapons of non-state armed groups” – including Hamas – as well as the protection of civilians and humanitarian aid routes.
This would require Hamas to hand over its weapons, something it is supposed to do under Trump’s peace plan.
But in a statement released overnight, Hamas called the draft resolution “dangerous” and an “attempt to subject the Gaza Strip to international authority.”
He said Palestinian factions rejected any clause related to the disarmament of Gaza or that harms “the right of the Palestinian people to resistance.”
The statement also rejected any foreign military presence inside the Gaza Strip, saying it would constitute a violation of Palestinian sovereignty.
The draft goes on to support the formation of a Peace Board, expected to be headed by President Trump, to oversee a body of Palestinian technocrats who will temporarily administer Gaza and take charge of its redevelopment.
Following pressure from key Arab states, the latest text mentions a possible future Palestinian state, although without requiring it as an objective.
Still, the inclusion of such a reference sparked a strong reaction from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after allies in his governing coalition criticized the draft, even threatening to leave the government if Netanyahu did not back down.
“With regard to a Palestinian state,” he said Sunday, “our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan [River]”This opposition exists, it is valid and it has not changed at all.”
In fact, Trump’s peace plan suspended fighting between Israel and Hamas that had raged since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage in that attack.
Since then, more than 69,483 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
