On Monday, the United Nations Security Council approved the Trump administration’s “peace plan” for Gaza.
The resolution calls for the establishment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to demilitarize and govern Gaza while Israel withdraws from the area. It also includes the formation of a ‘peace board’ in line with Trump’s plan, stipulating the deployment of international forces to stabilize Gaza, and grants the ‘peace board’ a mandate until December 2027.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz said the ISF will be made up of “a strong coalition of peacekeepers, many from Muslim majority nations like Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and others.”
According to a U.S. official quoted by Axios, the stabilization forces would have an “executive” role, not a mere peacekeeping one, which means they would have the authority to disarm Palestinian factions and oversee security matters in the strip. This aligns with Israeli demands that the deployment of international forces should be under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which not only grants them executive powers but also facilitates the formation of these forces without approval from all parties.
The resolution also references the prospect of a Palestinian state if a “credible pathway” is established as a result of the plan.
“Congratulations to the World on the incredible Vote of the United Nations Security Council, just moments ago, acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me, and include the most powerful and respected Leaders throughout the World,” posted President Trump on Truth Social after the vote.
The 15-member council voted 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining. Both countries had the option of vetoing the measure.
Prior to the vote, Russia had introduced a counter-proposal to the Security Council’s voting. The Russian version places the authority of running Gaza in the hands of the UN and its secretary general, and it refuses any previous conditions for reconstruction, such as disarmament. However, given the approval of some Arab states of the U.S. bill, observers expected Russia and China to abstain from voting on the U.S. bill, without vetoing it.
The vote is facing strong backlash from Palestine advocates across social media.
“The UN Security Council has just adopted the horrific US resolution with 13 yes votes and two abstentions,” tweeted human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber. “Not a single member of the Council had the courage, principle, or respect for international law to vote against this US-Israel colonial outrage.”
“This proposal has been rejected by Palestinian civil society and factions, and defenders of human rights and international law everywhere,” he continued. “November 17, 2025 is a day of shame for the United Nations, and for governments around the world on their knees before the U.S. empire and its violent Israeli client. But the struggle for Palestinian freedom will continue undeterred, with or without them.”
Prior to the vote, Hamas released a statement on Telegram rejecting the presence of an international force in Gaza.
“Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the [Israeli] occupation,” it read. “Any international force, if established, must be deployed only at the borders to separate forces, monitor the ceasefire, and must be fully under UN supervision.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to vocalize his long-held opposition to Palestinian statehood, while reportedly making side deals with Trump to ensure de facto Israeli control over Gaza.
“Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed,” he said during a government meeting on Sunday. “Gaza will be demilitarized, and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets, or lectures.”
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot also reported that Netanyahu’s cabinet was making contacts in Washington to ensure a side understanding that ensures Israel’s liberty of military action in Gaza. This move comes in anticipation of the deployment of international forces, which could restrict Israel’s freedom of action in Gaza in the future. On Monday, Netanyahu also repeated that if Hamas doesn’t disarm by itself, Israel would disarm it, indicating Israel’s will to resume military action in the future.
Other Palestinian political factions collectively rejected the resolution. In a joint statement on Sunday preceding the vote, the factions called the U.S. resolution “a new attempt to impose another form of occupation on our land and our people.” The statement added that “any foreign intervention in Gaza is a violation of our national sovereignty and a continuation of our people’s suffering, and the only way to achieve stability is by ending the occupation, lifting the siege, and the respect of our people’s rights and inalienable rights.”
The resolution’s significance lies in that it aims to give Trump’s plan an international mandate, particularly in the deployment of international forces and forming a board to administer Gaza. The U.S. anticipated the resolution bill with the opening of a large military base in Kiryat Gat, near the Gaza Strip, to oversee the implementation of the first part of the ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid. Last week, the Washington Post reported that U.S. forces at Kiryat Gat have taken full control of the humanitarian aid entry to Gaza, instead of Israel. It was from Kiryat Gat that U.S. vice-president JD Vance and Jared Kushner stated that Gaza’s reconstruction will begin in the Israeli-controlled areas, east of the recently-drawn ‘yellow line’.
On Sunday, anticipating the UN Security Council vote, Israel’s defense minister Yizrael Katz said that Israel will demilitarize Gaza on the Israeli-controlled side, using for the first time by an Israeli official the term “new Gaza,” clearly pushing towards the division of Gaza. The resolution, aside from legitimizing the key elements of Trump’s plan – namely the peace board, and the deployment of international forces with the mandate of disarming Hamas and other Palestinian factions – remains vague on critical issues like reconstruction, leaving a gap to be filled by the US-Israeli vision of dividing Gaza.
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