Trump Gaza plan: UN security council to vote on resolution to set up international stabilisation force – live

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UN vote critical to legitimising International Force

Frances Mao

Now that the first phase of Trump’s plan – the return of hostages and exchange of prisoners – has been completed, this UN vote is crucial to the implementation of phase two.

The resolution is “critical” to this phase is because it “gives legitimacy and a mandate” for the deployment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), says Urban Coningham, an analyst with the London-based Royal United Services Institute defence and security think tank.

This gives the ISF legal precedent as well as a sense of security for countries that contribute to the ISF and to humanitarian assistance.

He says the resolution also sets out activities for the ISF such as working on demilitarising the Gaza Strip, although what kind of demilitarisation is not mentioned and “defining it remains a significant obstacle to be navigated”.

Without the ISF, it is very difficult for aid to be delivered and distributed in the strip, as well as for reconstruction efforts by the Board of Peace to begin. So this is a necessary first step before that can begin.

Arab and Muslim-majority countries supporting ISF vote

As mentioned earlier, the US has received strong backing and input from Arab states for this UN resolution and also Trump’s wider plan.

A joint statement of support for the ISF proposal was issued by nine countries including Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

These states will be crucial in forming the main contingents of the ISF, training a new Palestinian police force and providing funding for the strip.

Their involvement likely explains the substantial US policy shift in mentioning a future Palestinian state, “as Arab rulers argue they cannot contribute to the ISF or rebuilding without some form of positive political horizon to aim for”, says analyst Urba Coningham from RUSI thinktank.

However there is still unease about the Trump plan remains among Muslim countries.

UAE and Jordan have both said they cannot supply troops while Israel has vetoed Turkey joining the force on the basis that Turkey is too close ideologically to Hamas.

What is this proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF)?

This idea of an international force stabilising Gaza comes from Trump’s 20-point plan.

The new force, the UN resolution draft says, would receive a two-year mandate under the resolution and help secure border areas, protect civilians, secure humanitarian aid corridors and work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

Trump wants Arab or Muslim forces to supply troops for the force, which means its mandate and the prospect of a Palestinian state must be acceptable to Arab states.

Saudi sources said it was remarkable that Trump was backing a motion to the UN endorsing the concept of a Palestinian state. The Trump administration has largely ignored the UN or used its veto throughout the Gaza conflict.

Trump’s wider plan also calls for the disarmament of Hamas and demilitarisation of Gaza, as well as the reconstruction of the devastated territory and its placing under the authority of a technocratic Palestinian administration answering ultimately to a “Board of Peace” to be chaired by the US president.

A displacement camp in Gaza City as seen on November 14, 2025. The United States on November 13 called on the Security Council to unite and back its draft resolution warning that Palestinians could otherwise suffer “grave” consequences. Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images

US lobbied hard for resolution support

The US had campaigned hard to get most members of the council on board with its resolution.

Its delegation has made it known that the resolution has the backing of several Arab and Muslim-majority nations.

“Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,” the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz wrote in The Washington Post on Friday.

Mike Waltz Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Current UN security council members

The five permanent members of the UN security council with veto power are: US, UK, France, China, Russia.

The other members of the council for 2025 are: Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.

Each member of the council has one vote. A draft resolution needs at least nine “yes” votes, including the concurring votes of all five permanent members.

Russia and China had competing draft focusing more on Palestinian statehood

Veto-wielding Russia and China had also circulated a competing draft, saying the US document did not go far enough towards backing Palestinian statehood.

The competing text, as seen by some outlets, called on the Security Council to express “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution.”

It did not lend calls of support for a governing Board of Peace or for the deployment of an international force- instead calling for “options” on those issues.

The Russian-Chinese rival text is probably closer to the true views of the Arab states on a two-state solution, but the Gulf countries know they have to work with the US text since Trump’s endorsement is necessary in order for Israel to accept the stabilisation force.

What does the resolution say?

The US-led resolution “endorses” Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, the first phase of which secured the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.

In addressing the second phase, the resolution:

• Authorises the creation of an International Stabilisation Force that would work to secure border areas, protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian assistance, support the training and deployment of a reconstituted Palestinian police force, and de-militarise the Strip (this includes overseeing the permanent de-commissioning of weapons held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza)

• Indicates that Israeli forces fully withdraw once the force has established security and operational control across the territory

• Approves the creation of a “Board of Peace” - the transitional governing body for Gaza, to be chaired by Trump, which will have an initial mandate to do so for the next two years – to coordinate security, humanitarian and reconstruction planning. This would guide Gaza towards a reformed Palestinian governing authority

• Mentions a possible future Palestinian state - a last-minute addition following pressure from Arab states. The resolution outlines a pathway towards Palestinian self-determination and eventual statehood, linked to accountable governance and reconstruction milestones. Israel, of course, continues to firmly reject the notion of a Palestinian state

UN security council to vote on Gaza international force plan in resolution that also references Palestinian state

The UN security council will shortly vote on a resolution that would authorise an international stabilisation force to the Gaza Strip, as per the next phase of Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan.

And in an eleventh-hour addition following pressure from Arab states, the US-drafted resolution now also includes a tentative reference to a future Palestinian state.

The resolution’s wording was drafted several times after rounds of negotiations, and is now supported by key Arab and Muslim-majority countries.

But Russia, which has passed around its own resolution, and China, may abstain from the vote.