The United States has called on the United Nations Security Council to formally support a resolution aimed at strengthening President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, warning that Palestinians could suffer “serious consequences” if it does not.
The call came as Russia objected to Washington’s draft and submitted its own “counter-proposal” on Gaza to the council, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said in a statement Thursday that the U.S.’s “attempts to sow discord” over the resolution will only lead to “grave, concrete and completely avoidable consequences” for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip if the ceasefire breaks down and Israel resumes attacks.
The US mission last week formally distributed the draft resolution to the 15 members of the Security Council for negotiations on the text and content of the document.
The draft document, seen by AFP news agency, grants a two-year mandate to Gaza’s transitional governing body, known as the Peace Commission, chaired by Trump, until the end of 2027.
It also authorizes member states to form an Interim International Stabilization Force (ISF) to work on the “permanent dismantling of weapons from non-state armed groups” in the Gaza Strip, protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors.
ISF will also work with Israeli, Egyptian, and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize enclaves.
President Trump has ruled out sending U.S. troops to Gaza as part of a proposed 20,000-troop deployment.
The US government said it was in talks with Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, and Azerbaijan to contribute troops, but it had reservations about sending troops due to concerns it could lead to a direct conflict with Hamas.
Unlike previous drafts, the latest version also addresses the possibility of a future Palestinian state, saying that if the Palestinian Authority (PA) implements the requested reforms, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible path to Palestinian Authority and statehood.”
“The United States will establish a dialogue with Israelis and Palestinians to agree on a political vision for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” the resolution added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that there had been “good progress” in negotiations on the text of the resolution and that he was optimistic the resolution would be adopted.
However, despite widespread support for a peace commission among Security Council member states, serious questions remain about its oversight mechanism, its future role, or the text’s lack of any specific details about the ISF’s mandate, AFP reports.
While these major question marks remain over the U.S. proposal, Russia submitted its own counterproposal to the Security Council on Thursday.
“The purpose of our draft is to enable the Security Council to develop a balanced and acceptable unified approach towards achieving a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” the memo said.
On October 8, President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a much-touted 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip, pausing a two-year conflict in which Israeli forces have killed at least 69,179 people in the enclave.
The agreement also facilitated the exchange of Israeli prisoners (both living and dead) held in the enclave with Palestinian prisoners, as well as the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and the entry of some humanitarian aid.
Although the ceasefire remains in place, Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement and carried out near-daily attacks that have left hundreds of Palestinians dead.
The U.S. mission noted this “fragile” ceasefire in a letter to the Security Council on Thursday, urging the U.N. Security Council to “move together in solidarity to secure the much-needed peace” by supporting Washington’s resolution.
“This is a historic moment that paves the way for lasting peace in the Middle East,” the newspaper said.
