{"id":313029,"date":"2025-11-17T12:09:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=313029"},"modified":"2025-12-05T15:53:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T20:53:55","slug":"security-council-meeting-coverage-17nov25","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/security-council-meeting-coverage-17nov25\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Council Authorizes Stabilization Force in Gaza, Adopting Resolution 2803 (2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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17 November 2025<\/p>\n

10046th Meeting (PM)<\/p>\n

The Security Council today endorsed the United States-backed \u201cComprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict\u201d, welcomed its establishment of the Board of Peace and authorized the Board and Member States working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Adopting resolution\u00a02803\u00a0(2025) (to be issued as document\u00a0S\/RES\/2803(2025)<\/a>) by a vote of 13\u00a0in favour to none against, with 2\u00a0abstentions (China, Russian Federation), the Council also authorized the Board and Member States participating therein to enter arrangements necessary to achieve the Comprehensive Plan\u2019s objectives and to establish operational entities to this end. \u00a0Such entities will operate under the Board\u2019s transitional authority and oversight.<\/p>\n

The Council also underscored the importance of the full resumption of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in cooperation with the Board, in a manner consistent with relevant international legal principles, through cooperating organizations \u2014 including the United Nations \u2014 and ensuring such aid is not diverted by armed groups.<\/p>\n

Further, the text states that, as the Force establishes control and stability, the\u00a0Israel Defense Forces will withdraw from the Gaza Strip based on standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed between specified parties \u2014 \u201csave for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat\u201d.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Council decided that the Board, along with international civil and security presences authorized by today\u2019s resolution, shall remain authorized until 31\u00a0December\u00a02027, subject to further Council action. \u00a0The organ also requested the Board to provide it with a written progress report every six months.<\/p>\n

Adoption Marks \u2018New Course\u2019 for Middle East<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Before the vote, the representative of the United States \u2014 the author of today\u2019s text \u2014 stressed that it is \u201cno mere paper promise, but a lifeline\u201d. \u00a0The Force, he said, will deploy under a unified command to secure Gaza\u2019s streets, oversee demilitarization, protect civilians and escort aid through safe corridors \u2014 \u201call while Israel phases out its presence and a vetted Palestinian police force takes on a new role\u201d, he said.\u00a0 While noting concerns expressed over lack of clarity on certain points, he nevertheless warned against hesitation and emphasized:\u00a0 \u201cA vote against this resolution is a vote to return to war.\u201d<\/p>\n

After it was adopted, he thanked Council members for \u201cjoining us in charting a new course in the Middle East for Israelis and Palestinians and all the people of the region alike\u201d. \u00a0Stating that the resolution provides troop-contributing countries with a framework to move forward with the International Stabilization Force and global financial institutions with mechanisms to channel investment, he said: \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe former will support a region free from Hamas\u2019 grip, and the latter Gaza\u2019s reconstruction and development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting public endorsement of today\u2019s text by Arab and Muslim countries, Algeria\u2019s representative expressed support for its core objectives of maintaining the ceasefire and creating conditions for Palestinians to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and Statehood. \u00a0Further, he said that the establishment of the Force is a \u201cmajor development\u201d that will enable the \u201ccomplete withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces\u201d. \u00a0The representative of the United Kingdom also noted the strong international support for the Comprehensive Plan and observed that today\u2019s text \u201ctakes that Plan forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

The representative of the Republic of Korea, similarly, noted that the Comprehensive Plan is \u201caccepted by the parties\u201d and backed by key regional actors. \u00a0While welcoming the resolution\u2019s major elements \u2014 the Board, the Force and full resumption of humanitarian aid \u2014 he stressed that these must be further developed through close Council engagement. \u00a0Today\u2019s adoption, he urged, \u201cis not the end, but a new beginning\u201d.<\/p>\n

Concerns over Text\u2019s Ambiguities, Absence of Explicit Two-State Language<\/strong><\/h4>\n

More critical was China\u2019s representative, who stressed that the text was \u201cvague and unclear\u201d on critical elements, such as the structure, composition and terms of reference for both the Board and the Force. \u00a0\u201cPalestine is barely visible in the draft,\u201d he added, also pointing out that the resolution offers \u201cno effective participation\u201d for the United Nations despite the Organization\u2019s \u201cample experience\u201d in post-conflict recovery. \u00a0He further stressed that the text was \u201cnot a product of full consultations\u201d as its penholder \u201crushed\u201d the Council. \u00a0As such, China abstained.<\/p>\n

Others also pointed to the text\u2019s lack of detail on several important points. \u00a0Slovenia\u2019s representative called for \u201cclear terms of reference\u201d for the Board, stressing the need for \u201cinclusivity, transparency and good faith\u201d. \u00a0Somalia\u2019s representative expressed concern over its \u201climited clarity\u201d regarding the role of the United Nations, as well as that of the Palestinian Authority. \u00a0He expressed further concern over the \u201cabsence of explicit reference to the two-State solution\u201d, underscoring that a \u201cjust and lasting peace can only be achieved by recognizing and upholding\u201d that arrangement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe continuing occupation of the Palestinian territory is a violation of international law,\u201d declared the representative of Guyana, underscoring that the two-State solution must \u201cremain the centrepiece of all peace efforts in Palestine\u201d. \u00a0She, too, pointed to a lack of clarity regarding the Palestinian Authority\u2019s role in Gaza\u2019s recovery and reconstruction, stressing that it must have an \u201cintegral\u201d role in these processes \u2014 \u201cand that role should not be subject to preconditions that are not measurable\u201d.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s representative stressed that implementation of the text should be framed in a \u201cclear political and legal context\u201d that includes the implementation of the two-State solution; the swift return of a reformed, strengthened Palestinian Authority in Gaza with the support of the international community; the exclusion of Hamas from any governance role; and the unity of Gaza and the West Bank. \u00a0To that end, \u201cany demographic or territorial change to the enclave or any occupation of Gaza are excluded\u201d, he stressed.<\/p>\n

Peace Cannot Be Achieved by Excluding Palestinians<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Underscoring that the right to self-determination is \u201cinherent and unconditional\u201d and that \u201cpeace cannot be achieved in bypassing the Palestinians\u201d, Pakistan\u2019s representative noted that several important suggestions made by his and other delegations did not appear in the text. \u00a0These include a clear political path to Palestinian statehood, an affirmation of the Palestinian Authority\u2019s central role in governance and reconstruction, and clarification regarding the Force\u2019s mandate. \u00a0\u201cThose are all crucial aspects with a bearing on the success of this endeavour,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n

Stressing the legal weight of Council decisions, the representative of Sierra Leone, Council President for November, spoke in his national capacity to stress that the organ cannot \u201cextinguish, suspend or condition\u201d the Palestinian right to statehood. \u00a0This, he said, exists \u201cindependently of any peace plan, governance arrangement or reform programme\u201d. \u00a0Nevertheless, the representative of Greece said that the Comprehensive Plan opens the path to the \u201crealization\u201d of the two-State solution and Palestinian self-determination.<\/p>\n

For her part, the representative of Denmark said that the Comprehensive Plan represents \u201cour best opportunity to bring about lasting peace\u201d in which Palestinians can shape their own future, Gaza is reunited with the West Bank under a reformed Palestinian Authority as part of a two-State solution and Israel is secure from terrorism. \u00a0The ceasefire that took effect on 10\u00a0October, she added, is \u201ca long-awaited pause that offers renewed hope\u201d for Israelis and Palestinians to begin recovering from the horrors of war.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At the heart of Panama\u2019s vote in favour of the resolution, said that country\u2019s representative, was the scale of the suffering and devastation faced by Israelis and Palestinians. \u00a0As the current situation on the ground demands an urgent response that prioritizes security, integration and civilian protection, he said that today\u2019s text represents a \u201cfirst necessary step\u201d to consolidate the ceasefire, reinforce vital humanitarian assistance and support international efforts towards reconstruction. \u00a0He expressed a sentiment regarding the adopted resolution that was shared by many today:\u00a0\u201cThe perfect is the enemy of the good.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the representative of the Russian Federation \u2014 whose delegation abstained \u2014 stressed that the resolution \u201cis something we just couldn\u2019t support\u201d as it does not reflect the cornerstone formula of the two-State solution and endows the Force with peace-enforcement tasks. \u00a0Stressing that this \u201ccould actually transform it into a party to the conflict\u201d, he added that \u201cnot a single one of the potential troop-contributing countries agreed to this\u201d.\u00a0 He underscored:\u00a0 \u201cThe main thing is that this document shouldn\u2019t become a fig leaf for unbridled experiments conducted by the United States and Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

And recalling the Council\u2019s \u201cunfortunate experience of seeing solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict \u2014 pushed through by the United States \u2014 bringing about the opposite result of what was intended\u201d, he concluded:\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t say we didn\u2019t warn you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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