🔗 Share this article UN Security Council Endorses the US Gaza Peace Plan A Security Council has approved proposals advanced by Donald Trump for securing a durable ceasefire in Gaza, including the stationing of an global peacekeeping force and a potential route to a independent Palestine. Unanimous Support with Notable Absent Votes The resolution was approved by a vote of thirteen in favor, with both China and Russia declining to cast votes. America's representative the American delegate informed the UN assembly that it mapped “a new course in the area for the conflicting parties and all the residents of the territory alike”. Compromise Wording on Independence The inclusion of allusions to an self-governing Palestine was the concession the US offered for endorsement from the Arab and Islamic world, who are expected to provide peacekeepers for the international stabilisation force (ISF). “The transitional arrangements that we begin today must be executed in accordance with international law and upholding Palestinian sovereignty,” the UK chargé d’affaires declared. Government Objection Persists However, on the eve of the UN vote, leader the Israeli leader reiterated his cabinet's strong objection to the creation of a Palestinian state, raising questions on whether the Israeli government will allow the implementation of the internationally endorsed measures. Central Components of the Measure Swift elimination of existing limitations on humanitarian aid into Gaza Formation of an multinational peacekeeping unit Progress on rebuilding and a potential “route to Palestinian independence and statehood” Vague Language and Stipulations The reference to independence was a negotiated inclusion to an first US version which did not mention it. Yet the language is unclear and conditional, stating only that once the Palestinian Authority has reformed itself and the restoration of the strip is progressing, “the circumstances may eventually be in place for a realistic route to Palestinian sovereignty and nationhood.” International Reaction The wording was insufficient of the strong guarantee to the creation of a sovereign Palestine beside Israel sought by Arab and Islamic states, as well as European delegates, but in statements to the chamber after the approval, delegates from those nations said they were willing to endorse the compromise in the benefit of extending the ongoing cessation of hostilities and swift steps to provide for and safeguard the millions of Palestinian residents in Gaza. “Our delegation has eventually decided to vote in favour of this text, a resolution that we approve its primary aim, namely the preservation of the truce and the creation of conditions enabling the Palestinian people to assert their fundamental rights to independence and sovereignty,” Algeria's representative stated. Practical Difficulties The resolution provides overall oversight authority to a “stabilisation committee” led by Donald Trump, but of undefined composition. This committee has to update the international body but it is not bound by the wishes of the United Nations or by the Palestinian leadership. It also calls for the creation of a Palestinian technocratic committee that is tasked with overseeing day-to-day governance of the territory and the distribution of aid, but it is highly uncertain who would participate. Stabilisation Team Mandate The mission of the global force empowers it to remove and dissolve militant organizations in the territory, but it is highly uncertain that potential participating nations would agree to attempt to engage such organizations. None of the states has to date agreed to sending peacekeepers. Moreover the standards for modification of Palestinian leadership, the prerequisite towards steps to Palestinian statehood, have been hazy. European diplomats said they viewed it as pressing that the members of the expert panel to deliver services was determined as promptly.
A Security Council has approved proposals advanced by Donald Trump for securing a durable ceasefire in Gaza, including the stationing of an global peacekeeping force and a potential route to a independent Palestine. Unanimous Support with Notable Absent Votes The resolution was approved by a vote of thirteen in favor, with both China and Russia declining to cast votes. America's representative the American delegate informed the UN assembly that it mapped “a new course in the area for the conflicting parties and all the residents of the territory alike”. Compromise Wording on Independence The inclusion of allusions to an self-governing Palestine was the concession the US offered for endorsement from the Arab and Islamic world, who are expected to provide peacekeepers for the international stabilisation force (ISF). “The transitional arrangements that we begin today must be executed in accordance with international law and upholding Palestinian sovereignty,” the UK chargé d’affaires declared. Government Objection Persists However, on the eve of the UN vote, leader the Israeli leader reiterated his cabinet's strong objection to the creation of a Palestinian state, raising questions on whether the Israeli government will allow the implementation of the internationally endorsed measures. Central Components of the Measure Swift elimination of existing limitations on humanitarian aid into Gaza Formation of an multinational peacekeeping unit Progress on rebuilding and a potential “route to Palestinian independence and statehood” Vague Language and Stipulations The reference to independence was a negotiated inclusion to an first US version which did not mention it. Yet the language is unclear and conditional, stating only that once the Palestinian Authority has reformed itself and the restoration of the strip is progressing, “the circumstances may eventually be in place for a realistic route to Palestinian sovereignty and nationhood.” International Reaction The wording was insufficient of the strong guarantee to the creation of a sovereign Palestine beside Israel sought by Arab and Islamic states, as well as European delegates, but in statements to the chamber after the approval, delegates from those nations said they were willing to endorse the compromise in the benefit of extending the ongoing cessation of hostilities and swift steps to provide for and safeguard the millions of Palestinian residents in Gaza. “Our delegation has eventually decided to vote in favour of this text, a resolution that we approve its primary aim, namely the preservation of the truce and the creation of conditions enabling the Palestinian people to assert their fundamental rights to independence and sovereignty,” Algeria's representative stated. Practical Difficulties The resolution provides overall oversight authority to a “stabilisation committee” led by Donald Trump, but of undefined composition. This committee has to update the international body but it is not bound by the wishes of the United Nations or by the Palestinian leadership. It also calls for the creation of a Palestinian technocratic committee that is tasked with overseeing day-to-day governance of the territory and the distribution of aid, but it is highly uncertain who would participate. Stabilisation Team Mandate The mission of the global force empowers it to remove and dissolve militant organizations in the territory, but it is highly uncertain that potential participating nations would agree to attempt to engage such organizations. None of the states has to date agreed to sending peacekeepers. Moreover the standards for modification of Palestinian leadership, the prerequisite towards steps to Palestinian statehood, have been hazy. European diplomats said they viewed it as pressing that the members of the expert panel to deliver services was determined as promptly.