Opinion A Gaza resolution cannot exclude Israel

After the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 10, ending the two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas, one of the main points of contention has been the prospect of an independent Palestinian state. Momentum gathered when, at its 80th session, the UN General Assembly on September 12 endorsed a declaration calling for “tangible, time-bound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution. At the time, the US voted against it. On Monday, the UN Security Council, in a 13-0 vote, approved US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, which incorporates his 20-point proposal and envisions a “Board of Peace”. The resolution is noteworthy for several reasons.

First, UNSC resolutions are legally binding under international law. Second, it places the US — isolated at the UN on the Palestine question until now — at the centre of the post-war process. Third, it outlines a framework for an armed International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza and the creation of a governing authority that is neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority (PA), one that would operate without Israeli approval, which would be a clear break from the past. Finally, the resolution notes that, contingent on the reform of the PA and Gaza’s reconstruction, conditions “may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”. That an administration in Washington has invoked the phrase “Palestinian self-determination and statehood” is a significant step towards the ultimate goal: Securing the sovereignty of the Palestinian people and security for the region.

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Israel and Hamas have already objected to the resolution. The latter has rejected what it calls an “international guardianship mechanism” and has refused to disarm (a key component of the ISF mandate). Meanwhile, the far-right members of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have lashed out, prompting him to backtrack: “Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed” — a clear point of divergence with the resolution drafted by Israel’s principal ally. The US and Arab states must work together to implement the resolution for Gaza’s beleaguered people, but if Israel and Hamas refuse to cooperate, then Trump’s peace plan will not move forward.