GENEVA: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called the passing of a US-backed resolution on Gaza an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire, in a statement sent to reporters. The UN Security Council on Monday voted to adopt a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and authorising an international stabilisation force there. “It is essential now to translate the diplomatic momentum into concrete and urgently needed steps on the ground,” Guterres said in the statement, adding that the UN is committed to scaling up humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Guterres also said it was important to continue advancing to the second phase of the US plan, leading to a political process to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. UN agencies have complained that, more than a month after the ceasefire, they still cannot get enough aid into Gaza to meet the needs of millions of people displaced and traumatised by the two-year war. “We are managing to get more in, but it’s not enough,” Ricardo Pires, spokesperson for the UN children’s agency, told a Geneva press briefing on Tuesday.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said that the UN Security Council’s adoption of a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza was a necessary first step on a long road towards peace. “The UN resolution is the first step in a long road towards peace. That step was needed because we could not embark on anything else before we had a ceasefire,” Shahin told reporters in Manila during a visit to the Philippines.
Shahin said there were still other issues that needed to be addressed, including Palestinian self-determination and eventual Palestinian independence, and that the process for implementing Trump’s plan must be governed by international law. She said that although Trump’s plan alludes to possible Palestinian statehood and only after the PA carries out reforms, that issue could be taken up later. “As long as these elements are in there, we’re happy with this first step,” Shahin said.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority earlier welcomed the vote and has said it is ready to take part in Trump’s plan, which doesn’t outline a clear role for the PA and makes vague references to statehood. European and Arab states have said that Gaza must be governed by the Palestinian Authority and that there must be a clear pathway to Palestinian independence. The Israeli government, which opposes the idea of an independent Palestinian state, rejects any involvement by the Palestinian Authority.
Under the initial stage of Trump’s plan, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10. Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce, but it continues to hold. Hamas has since released most of the hostages from Gaza. The remains of three deceased hostages are still held.
The text of the resolution says member states can take part in the Trump-chaired Board of Peace, envisioned as a transitional authority that would oversee reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza. It also authorises the international stabilisation force, which would ensure a process of demilitarising Gaza, including by decommissioning weapons and destroying military infrastructure. Hamas, in a statement, reiterated that it will not disarm and argued that its fight against Israel is legitimate resistance, potentially pitting the militant group against the international 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, issued after the adoption of the resolution. — Reuters
