UN Security Council backs U.S.-led Gaza peace plan
The United Nations Security Council voted 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining, to endorse a U.S.-authored Gaza peace plan that creates a transitional authority for the territory and calls for an international stabilisation presence. The resolution marks a rare Council alignment behind a U.S. blueprint after intensive diplomacy and textual changes that reference a “credible path” to Palestinian statehood.
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- The vote authorises a Board of Peace and an International Stabilisation Force to operate in Gaza under terms agreed in the resolution.
- The text was adjusted after consultations to include language on a “credible path” to Palestinian statehood, a provision opposed by Israel.
Key provisions: Board of Peace and International Stabilisation Force
The resolution establishes a transitional governing body for Gaza — dubbed the Board of Peace — and calls for a multinational stabilisation force to secure borders, protect civilians and decommission weapons from armed groups. The mandate for the Board runs through the end of 2027, and the ISF would work alongside Israel, Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police.
- The ISF is tasked with securing humanitarian corridors, assisting border security and helping “permanent decommissioning” of weapons from non-state actors.
- The Board of Peace is framed as a temporary governing arrangement to oversee reconstruction and security until a longer-term political solution is reached.
Divided reactions across the region and Security Council
Support for the resolution was split across Palestinian and regional actors, and Moscow circulated a rival text urging stronger endorsement of a two-state solution. The Palestinian Authority backed the U.S. draft while Hamas and other factions denounced it as imposing an international trusteeship and rejecting Palestinian rights.
- Israel reiterated its long-standing rejection of Palestinian statehood, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restating opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory.
- Hamas called the plan unacceptable, saying it would replace one form of control with another and objecting to disarmament measures.
- Russia proposed an alternative that asked the U.N. secretary-general to offer options rather than immediately authorise a Board of Peace or force deployment.
Diplomacy, context and what comes next
U.S. officials pressed for swift adoption, arguing that failure to back the text would risk a return to large-scale conflict. The vote follows weeks of lobbying and a joint endorsement by several Arab and Muslim-majority states; Moscow and Beijing abstained, signalling reservations without blocking the resolution.
- U.S. diplomats framed the vote as the start of implementing the plan and cited broad regional backing from states including Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.
- Civilian suffering in Gaza remains acute after two years of fighting; health officials report at least 67,000 people killed amid the campaign that began with Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel in 2023.
- Next steps include implementation planning for the Board and the ISF, diplomatic efforts to secure participation from contributing states, and continued debate over political arrangements for Palestinian self-determination.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
