UN Security Council to vote on international stabilization in Gaza

The UN Security Council is preparing for a pivotal vote on Monday over a US-led resolution that would give formal weight to Donald Trump’s Gaza peace blueprint, a plan centered on deploying an international force and reshaping governance in the devastated enclave. Washington has warned that inaction could set the stage for renewed violence.

The text, refined through days of tense negotiations, formally “endorses” Trump’s proposal, which paved the way for a fragile ceasefire between 'Israel' and Hamas on October 10.

According to the latest draft seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the resolution would authorize an International Stabilization Force (ISF) working alongside 'Israel', Egypt, and newly trained Palestinian police units. The mission would secure border zones, demilitarize the strip, and oversee the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.” It would also be tasked with protecting civilians and ensuring that humanitarian corridors remain open.

The plan further envisions a transitional governing council called the “Board of Peace,” theoretically chaired by Trump, with a mandate stretching through the end of 2027.

In a significant shift from earlier versions, the draft references the possibility of a future Palestinian state. It argues that once the Palestinian Authority implements required reforms and reconstruction begins in Gaza, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

'Israel' sharply rejected that trajectory. “Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

The Security Council is scheduled to vote at 5 PM (2200 GMT). But Russia, a veto-holding member, has introduced a counterproposal criticizing the US draft for falling short on committing to statehood. Moscow’s version calls for the Council to express its “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution” while asking UN Secretary-General António Guterres to present future options for an international force or transitional body.

Washington has launched an aggressive campaign to secure support, denouncing what it called efforts to “sow discord” within the Council. “Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,” US ambassador Mike Waltz wrote in The Washington Post.

The United States published a joint statement showing support from several Arab and Muslim-majority countries, Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey, bolstering the resolution’s diplomatic weight.

Despite objections from Moscow and concerns among other states, several diplomats told AFP they anticipate the US text will pass. Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said Russia appears unlikely to veto a resolution backed by Arab governments. “I think it is more likely that China and Russia will abstain, register their skepticism about the plan and then sit back and watch the US struggle to put it into action,” he said.