The UN Security Council will start negotiations on a US-drafted resolution to endorse President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, said a senior US government official, and authorise a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body and international stabilisation force.
The United States formally circulated the draft resolution to the 15 council members late on Wednesday and has said it has regional support from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates for the text.
“The message is: if the region is with us on this and the region is with us on how this resolution is constructed, then we believe that the council should be as well,” the senior US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to be adopted.
When asked when the draft text could be put to a vote, the official said: “The sooner that we move, the better. We’re looking at weeks, not months.
“Russia and China will certainly have their inputs, and we’ll take those as they come. But at the end of the day, I do not see those countries standing in the way and blocking what is probably the most promising plan for peace in a generation,” the official said.
The draft resolution, seen by Reuters, would authorise a Board of Peace transitional governance administration to establish a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza that could “use all necessary measures” — language for force — to carry out its mandate.
The ISF would be authorised to protect civilians and humanitarian aid operations, work to secure border areas with Israel, Egypt and a “newly trained and vetted Palestinian police force”.
