The UN Security Council on Monday, 17 November, approved a resolution whose main provisions are based on the peace plan for Gaza proposed by US President Donald Trump.
The resolution proposed by the United States envisages the creation of an international stabilisation force, which would include soldiers from several Arab countries, a “Peace Council” that would temporarily govern the territory, which Donald Trump heads. The resolution also states that a Palestinian state can be established, provided several preconditions are met.
The document was approved with the support of 13 members of the Security Council, with Russia and China abstaining from the vote.
“This is a moment of historic proportions”, US President Donald Trump wrote on his social media page. Algeria’s representative to the UN, Amar Benjama, who represented Arab countries during the discussion of the resolution, thanked President Trump for his role in reaching a truce in Gaza, emphasising that a just peace in the Middle East is not possible without the creation of a Palestinian state.
The approval of the resolution was in doubt due to the position of Russia, which some time ago proposed its own version of the resolution with a focus on the establishment of a Palestinian state, but the support of the American version of the resolution by Arab and Muslim countries determined its success.
According to the resolution, the international contingent would be responsible for demilitarising the Gaza Strip, seizing weapons from armed groups, ensuring security in Gaza and securing the borders. On Monday, Hamas, a group recognised by the US and EU as a terrorist group, criticised the document, announcing that the international contingent would not be a neutral force, appearing on the “side of the occupation”.
Under the resolution, the international stabilisation force can resort to all necessary measures to carry out its missions, which includes sanctioning the use of weapons. After Gaza passes under the control of the international contingent, the Israeli army will leave the territory.
On 2 September, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution supporting the so-called New York Declaration, a statement of principles for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state without Hamas in power, drafted at the initiative of France and Saudi Arabia. Israel has expressed disagreement with the document.
The state of Palestine is now recognised by about 150 of the 193 UN member states. The US, Israel, Italy and Germany, among others, refuse to recognise it. According to UN resolutions, the territory of the state should consist of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but Israel does not agree with such borders.