Special to WorldTribune.com

By John J. Metzler, November 21, 2025

The UN Security Council approved a landmark American-sponsored resolution which just may give long suffering Gaza its final chance for peace and reconstruction.

The U.S. resolution enshrines Washington’s 20-point plan for Gaza; the current ceasefire, the establishment of a Board of Peace and backs the creation and deployment of an international stabilization force for the war-ravished territory.

There were 13 votes for, none against, and two abstentions, Russia and China.

Even his most persistent political critics conceded this was a big win for the Trump Administration’s tireless Mid-East diplomacy. Moreover, marshaling the U.S. drafted resolution through the political maze of the long-deadlocked fifteen-member Security Council was a feat of masterful diplomacy by the new American UN Ambassador Mike Waltz.

While France and Britain supported the American effort, there was a lurking threat from other veto holders such as Russia and Communist China. Though there was a credible threat of a Russian veto, in the end both Moscow and Beijing abstained thus clearing the path for passage.

American Council allies such as Denmark, Greece, Panama, Slovenia, and South Korea, backed the resolution too. Other countries such as Algeria, long a supporter of radical Palestinians movements joined in at the end, as did Pakistan and Somalia.

U.S. Ambassador Waltz stated clearly, “For two agonizing years, Gaza, home to over two million souls, has been a crucible of conflict, a hell on earth, where Hamas’ brutality and terror met Israel’s fierce response, leaving rubble where schools once stood and graves where playgrounds thrived… hope flickers like a candle in a storm.”

He exclaimed, “we stand at a crossroads. Today, we have the power to douse the flames and light a path to peace.”

Though the Palestinian Authority stated it’s fully ready to cooperate with the Trump Administration and ensure the implementation of the peace plan, the terrorist Hamas movement, the source of the October 7, 2023, conflict, predictably rejected the resolution, arguing it “imposes an international guardianship mechanism on the Gaza Strip.”

Yet even many strong supporters of the Palestinian cause such as Malaysia stated the resolution is “an important step in the right direction.” Other Muslim states such as Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Türkiye, Pakistan, and Indonesia worked closely with the U.S. on the plan.

The Security Council voted authorizing a Board of Peace and an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, as outlined by the U.S. “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.”

The Plan’s first phase established a fragile ceasefire, the release of hostages and detainees, a partial withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and increased flow of humanitarian aid.

The second phase, according to the resolution, calls for Hamas to disarm, further Israel Defense Forces withdrawals, and the creation of an interim technocratic government under the Board of Peace before eventual Palestinian Authority control.

The Board of Peace has extensive legal and administrative and reconstruction authority in the small territory. The World Bank shall play a major role in financing reconstruction.

Significantly the plan envisions a multinational 20,000-troop enforcement mission by 2026. The operation will not include any U.S. forces nor is this a formal UN Peacekeeping mission.

Amb. Waltz added, “The resolution authorizes the International Stabilization Force, a strong coalition of peacekeepers, from Muslim-majority nations like Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and others, to deploy under a unified command.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, praised the resolution as “an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire… It is essential now to translate the diplomatic momentum into concrete and urgently needed steps on the ground.”

Naturally the devil is in the details. As with most such endeavors, the key remains actual implementation as seasoned observers stressed. Resolution #2803, only three pages long, packs a powerful message for peace and reconciliation.

Russia’s Amb. Vasily Nebenzya claimed the Council was in essence, “giving its blessing to a U.S. initiative on the basis of Washington’s promises,” and argued the resolution fails to create the proper groundwork for a Palestinian “Two State Solution.”

In parallel, President Donald Trump hosted the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington, for a high profile political and commercial summit.

The president is pressing for the Saudis to eventually join the Abraham Accords Peace Plan with Israel, a highlight of Trump’s first administration.

Equally the President is vying for massive Saudi investment in the United States.

Following the vote Amb. Waltz stated, “Thank you for joining us in charting a new course in the Middle East, for Israelis and Palestinians and all the people of the region alike.”

John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism the Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China (2014). [See pre-2011 Archives]

  Gaza’s historic opportunity made possible by American diplomacy