The United Nations Security Council voted on Monday in support of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and for a UN mandate to establish the International Stabilization Force (ISF) that is expected to be deployed to the Gaza Strip.
Out of the 15 UNSC members, 13 voted for the proposal, while Russia and China abstained.
The five permanent members of the UNSC are the US, UK, Russia, China, and France. Ten other countries hold temporary membership. Currently, those positions are held by Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said before the session began that the “international community must commit to disarming Hamas, and Israel will make sure that this happens, one way or another.”
Danon spoke at the UNSC debate and emphasized that any plan for the future of the Gaza Strip requires “complete disarmament and the prevention of Hamas rearming,” his office stated.
Hamas rejects UN Gaza resolution, says international force would become party to conflict
Hamas rejected the UNSC’s passing of the resolution, saying it fails to meet Palestinians’ rights and demands and seeks to impose an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip that Palestinians and “resistance factions” oppose.
“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 favor of the occupation,” the terror group added.
However, the Palestinian Authority issued a statement welcoming the resolution and said it is ready to take part in its implementation. Diplomats said the PA’s endorsement of the resolution last week was key to preventing a Russian veto.
Trump praises outcome as 'moment of true historic proportion'
Trump praised the passing of the resolution as something that “will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations, will lead to further Peace all over the World, and is a moment of true Historic proportion,” in a post on Truth Social following the vote on Monday.
“Congratulations to the World on the incredible Vote of the United Nations Security Council, just moments ago, acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me, and include the most powerful and respected Leaders throughout the World,” Trump wrote.
The US president thanked all 15 members of the UNSC, including abstaining countries, Russia and China, as well as “those Countries that weren’t on this Committee, but strongly backed the effort, including Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Jordan.”
“The members of the Board, and many more exciting announcements, will be made in the coming weeks,” he said.
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, said the resolution, which includes Trump’s 20-point plan as an annex, “charts a possible pathway for Palestinian self-determination ... where rockets will give way to olive branches, and there is a chance to agree on a political horizon.”
“It dismantles Hamas’s grip; it ensures Gaza rises free from terror’s shadow, prosperous and secure,” Waltz told the council ahead of the vote.
Netanyahu praises UNSC vote
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the UNSC vote to implement Trump’s Gaza peace plan, thanking the US president and his team for their efforts to secure the deal, the Prime Minister’s Office posted to X/Twitter on Tuesday morning.
“The State of Israel and PM Netanyahu applaud President [Donald Trump] and his tireless and devoted team,” the post read. “The courage and sacrifice of our brave soldiers, along with President Trump’s diplomatic efforts, helped bring home all of the living hostages and most of the deceased ones.”
“We believe that President Trump’s plan will lead to peace and prosperity because it insists upon full demilitarization, disarmament, and the deradicalization of Gaza,” including, the PMO added, receiving the remains of the deceased hostages left in Gaza “with no delay.”
The PMO also stated that it believes that Trump’s Gaza deal “will lead to further integration of Israel and its neighbors as well as expansion of the Abraham Accords” and a “lasting alliance with the United States.”
“Israel extends its hand in peace and prosperity to all of our neighbors and calls on them to normalize relations with Israel and join us in expelling Hamas and its supporters from the region,” the PMO’s post concluded.
“Under American pressure, Netanyahu announced this morning that he accepts the Security Council’s decision, which includes the principle of ‘unification of the fronts,’” opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) responded to the PMO’s statement in his own post to X.
Lapid went on, calling Netanyahu’s “blind eye” to Hamas arming itself over the years a “terrible strategic mistake, and it’s good that the Americans put an end to it.”
“The most right-wing government in the state’s history is officially abandoning annexation and defining principles for cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.”
Russia, China complain resolution does not provide clear role for UN
The UN ambassadors of Russia and China complained that the resolution does not give the UN a clear role in the future of Gaza.
“In essence, the council is giving its blessing to a US initiative on the basis of Washington’s promises, giving complete control over the Gaza Strip to the Board of Peace and the ISF, the modalities of which we know nothing about so far,” Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told the council following the vote.
“There are no reasons for celebration tonight; this is a night full of sorrow for the Security Council; we hope that we will be proven wrong,” he added.
Liberman denounces events at UN as 'sell-out of Israel's security'
Former defense minister and leader of Yisrael Beytenu MK Avigdor Liberman denounced the recent events at the UN in a post on X following the announcement of the UNSC’s vote.
“What happened tonight at the UN is the result of mismanagement by the Israeli government. The UN resolution brought a Palestinian state, a Saudi nuclear weapon, and F-35 jets to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. This is a sell-out of Israel’s security. The Middle East is changing its face, and not for our benefit,” he wrote.
What does the resolution say?
The text of the resolution says member states can take part in the Trump-led Board of Peace, envisioned as a transitional authority that would oversee reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza. It also authorizes the ISF, which would ensure a process of demilitarizing Gaza, including by decommissioning weapons and destroying military infrastructure.
The resolution’s text says that “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” once the Palestinian Authority has carried out a reform program and Gaza’s redevelopment has advanced.
“The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” it says.
Ben-Gvir calls to assassinate PA officials, arrest Abbas if UNSC approves Gaza resolution
Netanyahu, under pressure from right-wing members of his government, said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state and pledged to demilitarize Gaza “the easy way or the hard way.”
This pressure included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) calling for targeted assassinations of Palestinian Authority officials, whom he called “terrorists,” if the United Nations Security Council approved the US-proposed Gaza international stabilization force resolution in its current form.
Opposition MKs also slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the resolution’s potential advancement.
The political storm among right-wing and left-wing ministers and MKs alike was centered around the fact that the resolution mentions a “path to Palestinian statehood.”
Ben-Gvir said that if the resolution was advanced, “targeted assassinations of senior Palestinian Authority officials, who are terrorists for all intents and purposes, should be ordered.”
Keshet Neev, Tobias Holcman, Idan Kweller, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.