New Delhi: The 15‑member United Nations Security Council on Monday (November 17) adopted the US‑drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza, backing the creation and deployment of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF).

Thirteen members, including the United Kingdom, France and Somalia, voted in favour of the 20‑point framework draft resolution while Russia and China abstained and no country opposed the measure.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres called the adoption an “important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire” and urged the parties to translate the resolution into "concrete and urgently needed steps" on the ground.

The resolution calls for the ISF to operate alongside Israel, Egypt and a newly trained Palestinian police unit. Its tasks will include securing border areas, dismantling non‑state armed groups – notably Hamas – and supporting the demilitarisation of Gaza, dismantling terrorist infrastructure, removing weapons and ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians.

The Security Council also approved the creation of a transitional governance body known as the Board of Peace (BoP). The BoP will support a technocratic Palestinian committee charged with the strip's day-to-day administration, coordinate the reconstruction of Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid. The funding for rebuilding efforts will come from a World Bank‑backed trust fund, as per the resolution.

Calling it "one of the biggest approvals in the history of the United Nations," Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Congratulations to the World on the incredible Vote of the United Nations Security Council, just moments ago, acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me, and include the most powerful and respected Leaders throughout the World. This will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations, will lead to further Peace all over the World, and is a moment of true Historic proportion!"

The Palestinian Authority said it stood fully ready to cooperate with the Trump administration and ensure the implementation of the document "urgently and immediately".

Meanwhile, Hamas denounced the resolution, arguing that it imposes an “international guardianship” mechanism on the Gaza strip and underlined that it failed to meet Palestinians' rights and demands. “Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favour of the occupation,” the group said.

Similarly, human rights group Al-Haq has also warned that the resolution undermines Palestinians’ right to self-determination and authorises the US to act like an occupying power.

Israel strongly opposes the resolution

The resolution underlines a credible pathway to Palestinian “self‑determination and statehood” once the Palestinian Authority implements reforms and Gaza reconstruction advances.

Israel, which opposes any Palestinian statehood, has signalled strong objection, while several Arab and West Asian states – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others – pressed for the self‑determination clause.

Both Russia and China, which abstained, expressed concern over Palestinian participation and criticised the text for lacking clarity on the composition of the ISF and the BoP, for not guaranteeing a clear role for the UN, and for failing to reaffirm a firm commitment to a two‑state solution.

Russia’s permanent representative Vassily Nebenzia slammed the resolution as “yet another pig in a poke”, adding that the Security Council was effectively placing Gaza “at the mercy” of the BoP and the stabilisation force “whose working methods are still unknown”.

After Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October  7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people, Israeli forces have killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

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