UN Security Council Backs the US Gaza Proposal

A Security Council has approved a plan advanced by the US president for securing a durable ceasefire in Gaza, encompassing the stationing of an international stabilisation force and a possible avenue to a independent Palestine.

Unanimous Support with Key Absent Votes

The proposal was adopted by a count of thirteen supporting, with both China and Russia choosing not to vote. The US envoy the American delegate informed the UN assembly that it set “a new course in the region for both sides and all the people of the region alike”.

Balanced Phrasing on Independence

Incorporation of references to an independent Palestine was the price the US paid for backing from the Arab and Islamic world, who are expected to contribute stabilisation troops for the international stabilisation force (ISF).

“The transitional arrangements that we embark on today must be executed in following international law and respecting Palestinian sovereignty,” Britain's representative affirmed.

Israeli Opposition Continues

Nonetheless, on the brink of the council decision, Israeli prime minister Netanyahu reiterated his government’s firm resistance to the formation of a sovereign Palestine, raising questions on whether the Israeli government will permit the enactment of the internationally endorsed measures.

Key Provisions of the Proposal

• Immediate lifting of remaining curbs on relief supplies into Gaza
• Creation of an global security force
• Steps toward rebuilding and a potential “pathway to Palestinian self-determination and nationhood”

Vague Phrasing and Conditions

The reference to independence was a negotiated inclusion to an first US version which did not mention it. However the language is ambiguous and dependent, promising only that once the Palestinian leadership has implemented reforms and the restoration of the strip is advancing, “the circumstances may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

Worldwide Response

The phrasing fell far short of the definite pledge to the establishment of a sovereign Palestine alongside Israel sought by Arab countries, as well as EU representatives, but in statements to the assembly after the approval, representatives from those countries said they were willing to endorse the compromise in the benefit of extending the present ceasefire and swift steps to provide for and safeguard the 2.2 million Palestinian residents in the strip.

“Our delegation has eventually decided to endorse of this text, a resolution that we back its core objective, namely the preservation of the ceasefire and the establishment of conditions allowing the Palestinians to exercise their basic entitlements to independence and nationhood,” the Algerian envoy declared.

Practical Difficulties

This measure provides general supervisory power to a “board of peace” headed by Donald Trump, but of unspecified participants. The group has to update the UN but it is not bound by the preferences of the UN or by the PA.

Furthermore, it demands the formation of a expert Palestinian panel that is expected to manage day-to-day governance of the territory and the provision of utilities, but it is far from clear who would be involved.

Peacekeeping Unit Mission

The mission of the international stabilisation force empowers it to neutralize and disband fighting factions in the territory, but it is highly uncertain that would-be troop contributors would agree to attempt to confront such groups. None of the states has to date pledged to contributing forces.

Moreover the standards for changes to the PA, the precondition towards progress on independence, have been vague.

European diplomats said they considered it urgent that the identities of the Palestinian technocratic committee to provide utilities was settled as without delay.