UN Council Endorses the US Gaza Proposal

The global body has voted to endorse a plan presented by the US president for achieving a long-term stability in Gaza, including the introduction of an global peacekeeping force and a eventual path to a Palestinian statehood.

Unanimous Support with Key Abstentions

The resolution was passed by a vote of thirteen in favor, with China and Russia choosing not to vote. Washington's diplomat the American delegate informed the council chamber that it mapped “a new course in the area for both sides and all the residents of the territory alike”.

Compromise Phrasing on Sovereignty

Addition of references to an sovereign Palestinian state was the concession the United States agreed to for support from the Muslim nations, who are likely to provide stabilisation troops for the global force.

“Provisional steps that we begin today must be carried out in accordance with legal norms and honoring Palestinian sovereignty,” the UK chargé d’affaires affirmed.

Israeli Resistance Persists

Nevertheless, on the eve of the council decision, leader Netanyahu reaffirmed his administration's strong objection to the creation of a Palestinian state, raising questions on whether Tel Aviv will allow the execution of the internationally endorsed measures.

Main Elements of the Measure

• Immediate lifting of remaining curbs on relief supplies into the strip
• Creation of an global security force
• Steps toward restoration and a eventual “route to Palestinian sovereignty and nationhood”

Unclear Wording and Stipulations

The mention to sovereignty was a negotiated inclusion to an initial US draft which did not mention it. But the wording is vague and dependent, declaring only that once the PA has reformed itself and the reconstruction of the territory is under way, “the circumstances may finally be in place for a realistic route to Palestinian sovereignty and statehood.”

Worldwide Response

The phrasing fell far short of the definite pledge to the building of a sovereign Palestine alongside Israel sought by Muslim nations, as well as European council members, but in addresses to the chamber after the decision, representatives from those states said they were ready to support the agreement in the benefit of extending the current truce and immediate measures to feed and protect the millions of Palestinians in the strip.

“Our delegation has eventually decided to vote in favour of this text, a text that we approve its core objective, namely the preservation of the truce and the formation of situations permitting the Palestinian people to exercise their immeasurable rights to self-determination and nationhood,” Algeria's representative declared.

Implementation Challenges

The resolution provides overall oversight authority to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, but of undefined composition. The group has to inform the United Nations but it is not required to follow the wishes of the UN or by the Palestinian leadership.

It also calls for the formation of a expert Palestinian panel that is tasked with overseeing routine management of the Gaza Strip and the provision of utilities, but it is quite ambiguous who would take part.

Peacekeeping Unit Mission

The mandate of the global force authorizes it to remove and dissolve fighting factions in Gaza, but it is far from clear that possible sending countries would agree to attempt to engage such factions. None of the states has so far committed itself to sending peacekeepers.

Furthermore the requirements for changes to the PA, the prerequisite towards moves to a sovereign Palestinian, have been unclear.

EU representatives said they viewed it as pressing that the members of the specialized group to distribute aid was settled as without delay.