The UN Security Council has approved the peace plan for the Gaza Strip promoted by Donald Trump. With 13 votes in favour and two abstentions — those of Russia and China — the ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, violated nearly 200 times by Israel in this first month, is thus set to enter its "phase two". As established by the resolution, this includes, among other things, the deployment of an international stabilisation force in Gaza, the creation of a Peace Council chaired by Trump and a Palestinian technical committee, the disarmament of Hamas and, in later stages and if the process proceeds smoothly, the possible formation of a Palestinian state.

The resolution is very vague on its implementation modalities and is moreover opposed by both Israel and Hamas.

The vote at the UN

The UN Security Council, the only body that takes binding decisions, was called on Monday 17 November to vote on the resolution drafted by the United States concerning the future of the Gaza Strip. In recent months, US President Donald Trump had presented his twenty-point plan for the Palestinian territory, and at the beginning of October "phase one" had been approved, based on the ceasefire, the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian hostages, the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops.

During this month-long ceasefire, the Israeli army has violated it nearly 200 times, killing hundreds of Palestinians. In the meantime, however, the green light has been given to "phase two" of the US plan, with the resolution approved by the UN Security Council with 13 votes in favour and the abstention of Russia and China.

What the resolution on Gaza provides for

The resolution calls for the creation of an international stabilisation force, jointly managed by Egypt and Israel, which will operate in Gaza and contribute to the disarmament of Hamas, which would in turn cease to exercise its military power over the Palestinian territory. Once this force is established and has the situation under control, Israeli troops — who today still occupy more than 50 per cent of the Gaza Strip — will be able to withdraw definitively.

The text also provides for the creation of a Peace Council, a kind of transitional government chaired by Donald Trump, which will oversee the management of humanitarian aid and organise reconstruction. It also calls for the training of a new independent police force to handle public order, thereby removing this responsibility from Hamas. A technical committee composed of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is also to be established, tasked with handling day-to-day political and administrative matters.

Towards a Palestinian state?

The resolution approved by the UN Security Council comes after a genocide lasting more than two years and marks a new phase for the Gaza Strip. But its content is very vague, with no details on how each of the established points can actually be put into practice — an element that leaves considerable discretion to those who will be responsible for managing the territory politically and militarily.

The reference to the possible creation of a Palestinian state is equally vague. This part was not present in the original text of the US plan and was strongly opposed by the Israeli government, but was included in order to secure the support of Arab countries and some European ones. The resolution establishes that if the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, initiates an internal reform process and if the various milestones set out by the resolution itself proceed smoothly, then it will be possible to begin discussing the establishment of a Palestinian state. A hollow prospect, devoid of concrete references, that pushes this objective even further away.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had initially given his support to the US proposal but backed down a few hours before the vote on the resolution. Decisive in this regard was the stance taken by the most extremist wing of the government and the desire not to alienate it. Hamas also opposed the resolution, rejecting disarmament and declaring that the text "imposes a mechanism of international guardianship over the Gaza Strip, which our people and its factions reject". The road to "phase two" of the Gaza peace plan is therefore off to an immediately rocky start.