Image source, Getty Images
The UN Security Council voted on Monday in favor of a US-drafted resolution supporting Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
This plan includes the establishment of an international stabilization force, to which, according to the United States, several unnamed countries have offered to contribute.
The resolution received votes in favor of 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Somalia, without any opposing votes and Russia and China abstaining from voting.
Hamas rejected the decision, saying that it did not meet the rights and demands of the Palestinian people.
The movement announced on Telegram that the plan “imposes an international guardianship mechanism on the Gaza Strip, which our people and their factions reject.”
He added, “Assigning the tasks and missions of the international force inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality and makes it part of the pro-occupation conflict.”
Image source, Getty Images
What is known about the plan?
According to reports on the latest draft, part of the role of the international stabilization force would be to work to “permanently disarm non-state armed groups” – including Hamas – as well as to protect civilians and humanitarian aid routes.
This would require Hamas, an organization considered terrorist by the US, EU and UK, to surrender its weapons, a condition that would be included in Trump’s peace plan.
In addition to the authorization to form an international peacekeeping force – which, according to the draft, will work with Israel and Egypt, the last country bordering Gaza in the south – it is also envisaged to establish a newly trained Palestinian police force in the Strip.
Until now, the Palestinian police operate under the authority of Hamas.
Image source, Getty Images
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told the council that the international stabilization force would be tasked with “ensuring the security of the region, supporting the demilitarization of Gaza, dismantling terrorist infrastructure, removing weapons, and ensuring the safety of the Palestinian civilian population.”
The initial phase of the plan – a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the handover of hostages and detainees – entered into force on October 10.
Waltz called it a “shaky first step.”
Reconstruction of Gaza
The international stabilization force is a key pillar of Trump’s plan, which also includes establishing a peace council, which the US president himself is expected to lead.
According to the decision, financing for the reconstruction of Gaza after two years of war will come from a credit fund supported by the World Bank.
The draft resolution also raises the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, something Israel strongly opposes.
The path towards establishing a Palestinian state in the future has been determined after pressure from important Arab countries.
Trump’s peace plan de facto suspended the fighting between Israel and Hamas, which has intensified since militants led by this Islamist organization attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in this attack.
Since then, more than 69,483 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza, according to the Strip’s Ministry of Health.
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