UN Security Council Votes to Endorse Trump’s Gaza Plan, Authorizing New Transitional Authority

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution, with 13 votes in favor, none against, and two abstentions from Russia and China, that formally endorses President Donald Trump's comprehensive 20-point plan for ending the conflict and rebuilding the Gaza Strip, providing a critical international mandate for its implementation.

The resolution, which followed the successful, albeit fragile, first phase of the plan that achieved a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas, now authorizes two major components to steer Gaza's future: the creation of a transitional governance body called the Board of Peace (BoP), which President Trump is expected to chair, and the establishment of a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF).

The ISF is mandated to secure the area, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, oversee the demilitarization of Gaza—including the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups like Hamas—and facilitate humanitarian aid, with the intention of eventually handing over security duties to a newly trained Palestinian police force.

Both the Board of Peace and the Stabilization Force are authorized to operate until the end of 2027, with the BoP also tasked with coordinating the reconstruction and economic revival of the devastated enclave and overseeing a Palestinian technocratic committee responsible for day-to-day civil administration and services.

This significant diplomatic step was only achieved after high-stakes negotiations, where the US agreed to include stronger language suggesting that "conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood" once the Palestinian Authority completes a reform program and Gaza's redevelopment advances, a key concession that secured the support of Arab and Muslim-majority nations who are expected to contribute troops to the ISF.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz hailed the vote as a "historic" step that "charts a new course," while President Trump celebrated the endorsement on social media, calling it "one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations."

Conversely, the resolution was immediately and strongly rejected by Hamas, which condemned the plan as imposing an "international guardianship mechanism" on Gaza and reiterated its refusal to disarm, warning that giving the ISF a disarmament mandate strips it of its neutrality and effectively makes it a party to the conflict.

Despite the controversy surrounding the language on statehood, the Israeli government welcomed the endorsement of the plan, emphasizing the conditions of full demilitarization and deradicalization, while Russia and China's decision to abstain was based on their criticism that the resolution grants too much control over Gaza to the US-led BoP and ISF without a sufficient role for the UN itself.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian, UN News, The Times of Israel, The Hind