Palestinians fix their makeshift shelter as the first winter rains fall on a displacement camp in Gaza City on November 14, 2025. The United States on November 13 called on the UN Security Council to unite and back its draft resolution aimed at bolstering the US president's peace plan for Gaza, warning that Palestinians could otherwise suffer "grave" consequences. Last week, US officials launched negotiations within the Council on a draft that would follow up on the ceasefire in the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and endorse the plan. Photo by Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP
UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN Security Council voted Monday in favor of a US-drafted resolution bolstering Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan that includes the deployment of an international force and a path to a future Palestinian state.
There were 13 votes in favor of the text, which Washington heralded after the vote as "historic and constructive," with only Russia and China abstaining -- but no vetoes.
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said after the vote that "today's resolution represents another significant step that will enable Gaza to prosper and an environment that will allow Israel to live in security."
But Hamas, which is excluded by the resolution from any governance role in Gaza, said the resolution did not meet Palestinians' "political and humanitarian demands and rights."
The text, which was revised several times as a result of high-stakes negotiations, "endorses" the US president's 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.
The peace plan 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 is mandated to work on the "permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups," protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.
PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD PATHWAY
It also authorizes 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.
In convoluted language, the resolution does mention 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 text says.
That eventuality has been firmly rejected by Israel.
Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said ahead of the vote that the resolution would "make sure that Hamas will not pose a threat against Israel anymore."
Veto-wielding Russia 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, asked the Council to express its "unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution."
It would not have authorized 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.
Waltz said ahead of the vote that "delaying will cost lives."
The US won 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.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said the resolution does not diminish the "obligation Israel and its allies have to comply with international human rights and humanitarian law."
© Agence France-Presse