On Monday evening, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, formally endorsing Trump’s peace initiative for Gaza. The resolution passed overwhelmingly, with 13 votes in favor, none against, and two abstentions (from Russia and China), following several weeks of U.S.-led diplomatic wrangling.
The resolution does two key things:
First, it creates a so-called “Board of Peace,” chaired by Donald Trump, which will serve as the transitional authority in charge of Gaza. Under the plan, Palestinian technocrats would manage day-to-day civil administration, but they would ultimately answer to — and be directed by — this board. Beyond that, details are scarce. The resolution sidesteps several crucial questions: Who will be on this board and how will that be decided? How much decision-making authority will Palestinians actually have? Will Palestinians even be represented on this board? (And if they are not given a meaningful say over Gaza’s future, will Gazans accept this body as a legitimate authority?)
Second, the resolution authorizes an International Stabilization Force for Gaza, consisting of roughly 20,000 troops, mostly from Arab or Muslim-majority countries. This force is empowered to enforce the resolution, including by “stabilizing the security environment in Gaza” and ensuring the demilitarization of the territory, including decommissioning weapons held by non-state armed groups (i.e. Hamas). But unless Hamas voluntarily disarms, this means international troops would be tasked with forcibly disarming Hamas.
Again the resolution leaves a critical question unanswered: which countries are actually prepared to contribute troops — and potentially fight a war against Hamas? Like the unresolved issue of Palestinian political participation in Gaza’s reconstruction, the question of who might actually constitute this force remains conspicuously open.
There are a few ways to interpret this resolution. On one hand, it finally offers a semblance of international unity on how to confront the crisis in Gaza and the devastation wrought by Israel’s conduct during the war. On the other hand, the resolution is half-baked. It contains ideas that might work in theory, but in the specific context of Gaza, it is difficult to see how they could be implemented.
In today’s (free!) episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and I break down what we see as the key challenges to implementing this resolution. We discuss how it came together — and whether it can help this fragile ceasefire hold.
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