Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution on the situation in Gaza
Moscow : UN Security Council voted on the American draft resolution featuring Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. The document was adopted with 13 votes in favour, while Russia and China abstained.
The document, prepared by Washington, establishes a so-called Board of Peace to govern Gaza, headed by Donald Trump and, according to him, involving other “most powerful and respected leaders throughout the World.” The Board is, in turn, authorised to deploy certain International Stabilisation Forces in coordination with Israel and Egypt. These forces are tasked with peace enforcement functions, including the demilitarisation of the enclave and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups.
However, the participation of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in governing the sector or in determining the future of the Palestinians based on the two-state formula is not envisaged. Nor does the resolution stipulate obligations for Israel as the occupying power, including the renunciation of annexing Palestinian lands or the withdrawal of its forces.
The UN Security Council and the UN Secretariat have been entirely sidelined, both in terms of oversight and accountability for the structures being established in Gaza, and the practical modalities for deploying and stationing the international contingent.
Also telling are the rushed, indeed ultimatum-like, methods employed to advance the American draft – without genuine discussion, without addressing the substantive concerns of other delegations, and under direct threats of renewed large-scale bloodshed in Gaza. Even the circulation of a Russian counter-draft, aimed at overcoming the disagreements in the UN Security Council by returning to consolidated international legal foundations for Palestinian-Israeli settlement, failed to rectify the situation.
Thus, it must be acknowledged that Resolution 2803, as adopted, does not grant the Security Council the requisite prerogatives to maintain peace and security. It contradicts the spirit of genuine peacekeeping and universally recognised international legal decisions, which envisage the creation of an independent and territorially contiguous State of Palestine within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting peacefully and securely with Israel.
Russia abstained in the voting, taking into account the stance of the PNA leadership, the position of concerned Arab and Muslim countries in support of the American document, and to avoid a recurrence of violence and military actions in Gaza.
It bears reminding that the war and the suffering of civilians in the enclave could have been halted long ago had Washington not consistently – six times in the past two years – used its veto to block draft resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire.
The paramount concern now is that this decision does not become a fig leaf for unbridled experiments in the occupied Palestinian territories, nor a final verdict on the legitimate rights of Palestinians to self-determination or the aspirations of Israelis for security and peaceful coexistence in the region.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
