Israel on Nov. 18 hailed U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan after its endorsement by the U.N. Security Council, as Hamas rejected the resolution which calls for the deployment of an international force in the Palestinian territory.
The United Nations Security Council voted on Nov. 17 in favor of a U.S.-drafted resolution, which has allowed for a fragile ceasefire to hold between Israel and Hamas since Oct. 10.
The peace plan notably authorizes the creation of an international force that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly-trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize Gaza.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Nov. 18 hailed Trump's plan, saying it would lead to "peace and prosperity because it insists upon full demilitarization, disarmament and the deradicalization of Gaza.”
There were 13 votes in favor of the text and none against, with Russia and China both abstaining but not deploying their veto as permanent members.
Trump posted on social media that the vote would lead to "further Peace all over the World.”
But Hamas, which is excluded by the resolution from any governance role in Gaza, said it did not meet Palestinians' "political and humanitarian demands and rights.”
In a statement, the group also decried the establishment of an international force whose "mission includes the disarmament" of Palestinian groups in Gaza.
"The resolution imposes an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip, which our people, its forces and its constituent groups reject," the statement said.
The peace plan allows for the creation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that is mandated to work on the "permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups,” protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.
It also authorizes the formation of a "Board of Peace,” a transitional governing body for Gaza, which Trump would theoretically chair, with a mandate running until the end of 2027.
Once the Palestinian Authority has carried out requested reforms and the rebuilding of Gaza is underway, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood," the text says.
