UN Security Council backs Trump plan for Gaza

The UN Security Council has voted in favour of a US-drafted resolution, which endorses Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

Included in the plan is the establishment of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which the US says multiple unnamed countries have offered to contribute to.

The resolution was backed by 13 countries – including the UK, France and Somalia – with none voting against the proposal. Russia and China abstained.

Hamas, reacting to the move, rejected the resolution and said it failed to meet Palestinians’ rights and demands.

According to reports on the latest draft, part of the ISF’s role would be to work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups” – including Hamas – as well as protecting civilians and humanitarian aid routes.

This would require Hamas to hand over its weapons – something it is meant to do under Trump’s peace plan.

“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 favour of the occupation,” the group said in a statement following the Security Council’s vote.

As well as authorising an ISF, which it says would work with Israel and Egypt – Gaza’s southern neighbour – the draft also calls for creation of a newly trained Palestinian police in Gaza. Until now, the police there have operated under the authority of Hamas.

Until now, the police there have operated under the authority of Hamas.

Mike Waltz, the US’s ambassador to the UN, told the Council that the ISF would be “tasked with securing the area, supporting the demilitarization of Gaza, dismantling the terrorist infrastructure, removing weapons, and ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians”.

The initial phase of the plan – a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the handing over of hostages and detainees – came into force on 10 October.

Waltz described it as a “fragile, fragile first step”.

The draft also raises the possibility of a Palestinian state – something Israel strongly opposes.

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