The United Nations security council approved a resolution backing US president Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan late on Monday night, in a move the US said would help bolster the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas.
The top decision-making body at the United Nations saw 13 votes Monday in support of the US-led proposal, with Russia and China abstaining.
The resolution authorises a multinational security force to be deployed to Gaza. It also says member states can join a Board of Peace that would oversee the reconstruction and economic recovery of the territory.
Mr Trump’s 20-point plan has been in motion since Israel and Hamas agreed to a broad peace deal in October.
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But despite positive comments from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the vote represents a significant diplomatic blow for the right in Israel.
It is the first time the world body has ordered an armed deployment into territory captured by Israel in 1967.
Netanyahu praised Trump “and his tireless, devoted team,” while ignoring a clause in the resolution which addresses Palestinian statehood. His reaction was posted on his official X account in English, and he avoided issuing a response in Hebrew.
The motion paves the way for the establishment of a governing authority in Gaza that will operate without Israeli approval – a fundamental shift for the right in Israel, which seeks to ultimately annex all the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Far-right groups described a clause calling for the “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” as a trap that threatens Israeli security. They plan to protest when the cabinet convenes on Sunday.
National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu “to make clear that Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in any form”, while finance minister Bezalel Smotrich referred to “the deterioration we are now seeing on this issue”, of Palestinian statehood, as Netanyahu’s responsibility.
In response to the right-wing backlash, Netanyahu reiterated that “our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed”.
In common with attempts to break the diplomatic deadlock in the past, notably the Oslo accords in the 1990s, the opposition of the Israeli right was matched by equally belligerent statements from Hamas.
Hamas publicly denounced the security council resolution. In a statement issued on behalf of Palestinian factions, the group warned of “the danger posed by the American draft resolution”, calling it an attempt “to impose international guardianship on the Gaza Strip and to advance a plan biased in favour of the occupation [Israel].”
Hamas reiterated that it will not disarm and argued that its fight against Israel is a legitimate form of resistance, potentially pitting the militant group against the International Stablisation Force authorised by the resolution.
“The resolution imposes an international guardianship mechanism on the Gaza Strip, which our people and their factions reject,” Hamas said in its statement.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), based in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, issued a statement welcoming the resolution, and said it is ready to take part in its implementation. Diplomats described Ramallah’s endorsement of the resolution as key to preventing a Russian veto.
“The most right-wing government in the state’s history is officially abandoning annexation and defining principles for co-operation with the PA,” said Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s opposition.
It remains to be seen if the security council resolution will indeed pave the way for the reshaping of the region but it certainly falls short of the “total victory” and annexation dream of the Israeli right.
