UN Security Council approves Trump’s plan in Gaza

The resolution endorses the creation of an International Stabilization Force, with a contingent of around 20,000 international soldiers who will not be UN peacekeepers but troops deployed under the mandate of the Security Council, but outside the traditional UN structure. Their mission will be to secure Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt, train the Palestinian police, monitor humanitarian corridors, protect civilians, and, above all, take over the ‘permanent dismantling of non-state armed groups,’ the most delicate phrase in a text that has stirred controversy in Gaza and Jerusalem. In addition, it approves the establishment of a Peace Board with international legal personality to temporarily administer the Strip while a reformed Palestinian Autonomous Government takes shape. There is no promise of a Palestinian state. Just a vague reference to establishing dialogue between Israel ‘and the Palestinians’ to agree on a political horizon of ‘peaceful and prosperous coexistence.’ The self-determination and Palestinian state will be considered ‘when the conditions are met for a credible path.’ Hence, Hamas’s resistance, which had rejected the idea, accusing Washington of seeking to impose foreign tutelage that ‘strips Palestinians of their self-government’ and deems disarmament a violation of ‘the right to resistance’ as long as the Israeli occupation continues. However, even Algeria voted in favor of the resolution, as voting against it would be ‘a vote for the return of war,’ warned the US ambassador. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also warned this same weekend that Gaza will be demilitarized ‘the easy way or the hard way’ and reserves the right to decide which foreign troops are ‘unacceptable’ to enter the Strip, directly referring to Turkey. Russia, which had circulated an alternative draft focused on a two-state solution with no multinational force, chose to abstain, as did China. Neither wanted to bear the political cost of blocking the resolution presented as the only immediate path to consolidate the ceasefire achieved in October after two years of war and almost 70,000 Palestinian deaths. With this approval, a complex process now begins, full of uncertainties and dependent on how quickly countries willing to contribute troops formalize their commitments. Indonesia has been the first to confirm that it maintains its offer of 20,000 troops trained in health and construction. As the international force ‘establishes control and stability,’ as stipulated in the text, Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza following ‘standards, milestones, and deadlines’ directly linked to the progress of the demilitarization process.