At 11 p.m. Swedish time, the 15 member states of the Security Council are scheduled to vote on a resolution in which the wording has been vetted and refined to the last detail.
In a draft seen by AFP, the Security Council gives its support to the peace plan, which since October 10 has brought about a shaky ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas.
Strength and board
A formal mandate is also given for the establishment of a "stabilization force", a type of international peacekeeping force that will control the border demarcations in and around the Gaza Strip in cooperation with Israel, Egypt and newly formed Palestinian police forces.
According to the draft, the force's mission will be to protect civilians, maintain safe passage for humanitarian aid, and work towards the permanent disarmament of "non-state armed groups" such as Hamas.
The council is also expected to vote on the establishment of a "peace administration", a political transitional government that, according to the US-brokered plan, will be led by US President Donald Trump, with a mandate until the end of 2027.
There is criticism from Hamas and other Palestinian groups of Israel's interference in the transition and security, writes AP.
Future Palestine?
A major stumbling block has been what the Council should say about the prospects for a Palestinian state.
Only after some negotiation has a formulation about a future Palestine been agreed upon. If the Palestinian Authority undergoes the necessary reforms and the bombed-out Gaza Strip begins to be rebuilt, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible path to be laid out towards Palestinian self-determination and a state of its own,” it roughly translates to.
Russia, which has veto power, has submitted its own draft with even sharper wording: that the Council should express an “unwavering commitment” to a future two-state solution.
The Israeli government continues to express strong opposition to the formation of a Palestinian state.
Waltz warns
The United States, which brokered the peace plan while also being Israel's main supporter, highlights that many Muslim countries have backed the plan. Several of these have opened up to sending soldiers to a stabilization force.
“To refuse to support this resolution is to vote for Hamas terrorists to continue to rule or for the war with Israel to resume, thereby condemning the region and its people to eternal conflict,” wrote US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz in an op-ed in The Washington Post on Saturday.
The proposal that US President Donald Trump has presented for peace in Gaza consists of 20 points.
They were developed in consultation with several leading countries from the Arab and Muslim world. Trump then met with the Israeli Prime Minister, who accepted the proposal, with some minor changes.
The proposal stipulates, in particular, an immediate end to the war, the release of all hostages held by Hamas, the independent distribution of emergency aid to the Gaza population, a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military and the disarmament of Hamas.
After that, a technocratic transitional government will take over, with international forces in place and a governing council chaired by Donald Trump. Gaza “will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors” and rebuilt “for the benefit of the people of Gaza.”
Since October 10, there has been a formal ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, while the plan is being taken forward.
