A pair of draft UN Security Council resolutions on the Gaza peace plan are now being circulated, one by the United States and the other by the Russian Federation.
The American resolution, which has the backing of Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Türkiye , according to a Nov. 14 joint declaration of support, offers, in the words of the statement, “a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.... We emphasize that this is a sincere effort, and the Plan provides a viable path towards peace and stability, not only between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but for the entire region.” The resolution “welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace” to govern Gaza, with a mandate running until the end of 2027, and it authorizes member states to form a “temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)” that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed the joint statement, “which affirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the establishment of their independent Palestinian state and the pursuit of peace, security and stability between Palestinians and Israelis, and stresses that this should be in accordance with international law.”
Russia, having expressed previous concerns about maintaining the integrity of international law under the UN, as well as the pathway to a two-state solution, has proposed its own UNSC resolution on the Gaza peace plan. Reuters claimed on Nov. 13 to have seen a draft of it, which it says requests that the UN Secretary-General identify options for an international stabilization force for Gaza, and does not mention the “Board of Peace” that the U.S. has proposed as a transitional administration for Gaza. Russia’s UN mission said in a note to Security Council members on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 13, also seen by Reuters, that its “counter-proposal is inspired by the U.S. draft.”
In a statement issued on Nov. 14, the Russian UN mission expressed gratitude to the U.S. and the mediators for bringing about a peace agreement in Gaza, but said the UN Security Council must have the tools to ensure that the peace is sustainable. “UNSC resolutions are supposed to reflect the universally recognized international legal framework and reaffirm fundamental decisions and principles, first and foremost the two-State solution for the Israeli-Palestinian settlement,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, these provisions were not given due regard in the U.S. draft. …
“The rationale behind Russia’s draft resolution on Gaza is to enable the Security Council to define clear modalities for deploying a peacekeeping contingent and establishing administration in Gaza, while ensuring that these modalities are fully in line with universally recognized international legal standards and genuinely facilitate cessation of violence and durable stabilization,” the statement continued. “That is why the document calls on the Secretary-General to prepare a report for the Security Council setting out options for implementing the relevant provisions of President Trump’s Plan. It is also crucial to preserve the international legal framework for the Middle East peace process, which has been developed over many decades on the basis of the two-State solution.”
