UN Security Council set to vote on international force for Gaza

The UN Security Council is set to vote Monday on a US-drafted resolution bolstering Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, especially the deployment of an international force, as Washington warns that a failure to act could lead to renewed fighting.

The draft, which has been revised several times as a result of high-stakes negotiations, "endorses" the plan, which allowed for a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to take hold on October 10 in the war-wracked Palestinian territory.

The Gaza Strip has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of fighting, sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The latest version of the text, seen by AFP, authorizes the creation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

The ISF also would work on the "permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups," protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.

In addition, it would authorize the formation of a "Board of Peace," a transitional governing body for Gaza - which Trump would theoretically chair - with a mandate running until the end of 2027.

Unlike previous drafts, the latest version mentions a possible future Palestinian state.

Once the Palestinian Authority has carried out requested reforms and the rebuilding of Gaza is underway, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood," the draft says.

That eventuality has been firmly rejected by Israel.

"Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The UN Security Council vote is set for 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Monday.

Russian objections

Veto-wielding Russia has circulated a competing draft, saying the US document does not go far enough towards backing the creation of a Palestinian state.

Moscow's text, seen by AFP, asks the Council to express its "unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution."

It does not authorize a Board of Peace or the deployment of an international force for the time being, instead asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to offer "options" on those issues.

The United States has intensified its campaign to earn support for its resolution, hitting out at "attempts to sow discord" among Council members.

"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," the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, wrote in The Washington Post.

The US has made known that it has the backing of several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, publishing a joint statement of support for the text signed by Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey.

Several diplomats told AFP that despite Russian criticism and hesitance on the part of other member states, they expect the US draft to be adopted.

"The Russians know that while a lot of Council members will go along with the US plans, they share concerns about the substance of the US text and the way Washington has tried to fast-track it through New York," Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.

He however said he doubts that Moscow will use its veto on a resolution backed by Arab nations.

"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," Gowan said.