Diplomatic sources say the draft lacks the language necessary to fully empower the Gaza force, the Board of Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 US shares draft resolution with Security Council members, Muslim bloc With the United Nations Security Council set to begin negotiations on a US-drafted resolution seeking endorsement of President Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0peace plan<\/a>\u00a0for Gaza, it looks increasingly likely that the mandate of a proposed\u00a0international force<\/a>\u00a0may prove to be a major bone of contention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Thursday, the United States began expert-level discussions on the resolution with representatives from key Arab and Muslim states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It formally circulated the draft resolution to the 15 council members a day earlier, and officials claimed to have regional support from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates for the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday, Michael Waltz, the US Representative at the United Nations, convened a meeting of all 10 elected members of the UN Security Council to \u201cdemonstrate regional support for the resolution to the UN Security Council on Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Representatives of Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UN ambassadors from Egypt, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, T\u00fcrkiye, and the United Arab Emirates also attended the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of the resolution, according to a statement, is to welcome the Board of Peace and auth\u00adorise the International Stabi\u00adlisation Force (ISF) outlined in President Trump\u2019s 20-point plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dawn<\/em> reached out to Pakistan\u2019s Foreign Office, but there was no official acknowledgement that Islamabad had received the draft, until the filing of this report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, US outlet Axios<\/em> reported<\/a> that Ambassador Waltz also met Palestinian diplomats in New York to discuss the draft Security Council resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to be adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Linguistic spin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to diplomats privy to the draft, the language normally used when the Security Council wants strong action \u2014 like sending in a force \u2014 comes under Chapter VII of the UN Charter<\/a>, which gives it the legal authority to use coercive measures when it decides that a situation is a serious threat to international peace and security. The usual language to trigger Chapter VII, sources said, was to say that a situation is \u201ca threat to international peace and security\u201d. But the draft US resolution, according to insiders, says that \u201cthe situation in the Gaza Strip threatens the regional peace and the security of neighboring states\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this wording is very similar in meaning, the change seems deliberate: it leaves room for some countries to argue later that Chapter VII was not formally invoked, which could allow them to challenge or limit parts of the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This distinction matters because the Board of Peace (BoP) proposed is meant to have wide-ranging powers to manage Gaza. If local authorities do not agree to this, the UN would need a Chapter VII mandate to give the BoP those powers legally. Otherwise, under international law, Gaza would still be considered occupied territory, the rules for which dictate that the occupying power cannot radically change how the territory is run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Draft resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft resolution, seen by Reuters<\/em>, calls for the ISF to \u201cuse all necessary measures\u201d \u2014 language for force \u2014 to carry out its mandate. The ISF would be authorised to protect civilians and humanitarian aid operations, work to secure border areas with Israel, Egypt and a \u201cnewly trained and vetted Palestinian police force\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The force would stabilise security in Gaza by \u201censuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip\u201d, something many in the Muslim bloc<\/a> have misgivings about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The official said the draft UN resolution gives the ISF authority to disarm Hamas, but that the US was still expecting Hamas to \u201clive up to its end of the agreement\u201d and give up its weapons. The senior US official said the ISF was shaping up to be around 20,000 troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the US has ruled out sending US soldiers into the Gaza Strip, it has been speaking to Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and Azerbaijan to contribute. Pakistan\u2019s name has also cropped up<\/a> in troop-contribution discussions, but Islamabad has yet to formally comment on these reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been in steady contact with the potential troop contributors, and what they need in terms of a mandate, what type of language they need,\u201d the US official told Reuters<\/em>. \u201cAlmost all of the countries are looking to have some type of international mandate. The preferred is UN.\u201d When asked when the draft text could be put to a vote, Reuters<\/em> quoted a US official as saying: \u201cThe sooner that we move, the better. We\u2019re looking at weeks, not months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRussia and China will certainly have their inputs, and we\u2019ll take those as they come. But at the end of the day, I do not see those countries standing in the way and blocking what is probably the most promising plan for peace in a generation,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Diplomatic sources say draft lacks language necessary to fully empower the Gaza force, Board of Peace
\u2022 Washington estimates ISF will be 20,000-strong, have two-year mandate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n