Trump scores another diplomatic victory with UN approval of his Gaza plan

WashingtonAfter disparaging the United Nations from within the General Assembly last September, Donald Trump has managed to get the Security Council – the one he accused of passing useless resolutions – to approve his own resolution. 20-point plan to end the Gaza war. On Monday afternoon, the resolution passed with 13 votes in favor, thanks to the abstention of China and Russia—an unusual move by both countries, which typically oppose the United States in the Security Council. Trump has thus managed to break the isolation Washington has suffered in the international community as a result of its support for Israel, and it is also a symbolic victory in an institution that, after being humiliated, has finally yielded to his plan.

The resolution states that if the Palestinian Authority, which governs part of the West Bank, is reformed and makes progress in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the conditions for a credible path to self-determination and the creation of a Palestinian state could finally be met. However, it remains a clause written entirely in conditional terms and far from the recognition of the Palestinian state that most member states staged at the start of the 80th UN General Assembly.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president boasted about the milestone: "This will go down in history as one of the most important approvals in the history of the United Nations, will lead to more peace around the world, and is a moment of great historical significance." When the UN bows down and doesn't become a platform for oversight, it seems to be useful to the tycoon. In the post, the president also hinted that the members of the Board will be announced in the coming weeks and that "many more exciting announcements" will be made. When the plan was made public in October, it was leaked that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would be one of the politicians who would be part of the governing body.

For Israel, however, the mere mention of a possible Palestinian state is still uncomfortable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday: "Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed." The aversion to recognizing Palestine means that the path to fully implementing the plan is fraught with uncertainty. The recent ceasefire It is fragile and has already experienced outbreaks of violenceThe Israeli army has killed more than 240 people during the first month of the truce, according to estimates from health authorities in the Palestinian enclave.

After obtaining the Security Council's approval, the most immediate step would be to create the transitional government, which, according to the plan, would be headed by Trump himself, effectively turning the Gaza Strip into a kind of US protectorate. Besides the Peace Council, it must also be determined under whose authority the stabilization forces operating in the area would function. Another immediate challenge is how these stabilization forces will operate on the ground and how they will confront the Hamas militants, who remain armed and present in the Strip. The ruling states that the objective of this new military body will be to destroy the military infrastructure in Gaza and confiscate the Islamist group's weapons.

The abstention of China and Russia, who did not use their veto power, can be explained by the support shown for the plan by various Arab countries. Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates approved it at the time, as did Indonesia, Turkey, and Pakistan, which is a member of the Security Council.

"Hell on Earth"

Before the vote began, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, reiterated the idea that Gaza is "hell on earth" and displayed a copy of the resolution, describing it as "a lifeline." Once again, Washington ignored the fact that the cause of this "hell" has been Israel's offensive. After the vote, Waltz thanked the Security Council for joining the US "in charting a new course for Israelis, Palestinians, and all the inhabitants of the region." Shortly after the adoption of the resolution, which authorizes the international stabilization force to ensure a demilitarization process in Gaza, Hamas issued a statement reiterating that it will not disarm. The group argues that the fight against Israel is a legitimate form of resistance: "The resolution imposes an international trusteeship mechanism on the Gaza Strip, which our people and their factions reject," the Islamist organization states, adding that "any discussion on the issue of weapons must be an internal national matter connected to a political path [for Palestine] and self-determination." In contrast, the Palestinian Authority has welcomed the motion, which it considers the first necessary step on the long road to peace. "This step was necessary because we could not embark on anything else before achieving a ceasefire," said Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin. Netanyahu also welcomed the resolution, precisely because he believes it "will lead to peace" by guaranteeing "the complete demilitarization, disarmament, and deradicalization" of the Palestinian territory. "We expect to receive all the deceased hostages without delay," said Netanyahu, who believes this will lead to a second phase of the ceasefire, in which the disarmament and demilitarization process of the Gaza Strip is expected to begin. He said this will serve to "end Hamas's rule over Gaza." Most European countries have also welcomed the text. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called the UN resolution on Gaza "good news," but warned that it is only "the beginning of a long road" and that it can in no way be "considered the end point." He also considered the Security Council's stance to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul "good news."