The United Nations supports pushing forward Trump's Gaza plan

The UN Security Council voted to approve US President Trump's Gaza peace plan. The US has deployed hundreds of troops, a sizable diplomatic team, and numerous senior officials to Israel, aiming to develop a plan for the future of Gaza and provide insights into a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a longer-term perspective. However, given the many challenges ahead, it remains to be seen whether Trump and his administration have sufficient resources and perseverance to implement these plans.

First, Security Council approval is crucial for the US because it adds an international legitimacy framework to Trump's peace plan, meeting the minimum requirements of countries seeking aid in Gaza. Particularly urgent is the international stabilization force's aim to ensure the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, a price Israel will pay for withdrawing all its troops from the region in the future. For many countries called upon to send troops to the demilitarization operation, there is a prerequisite: they must be informed beforehand whether their troops will be required to disarm Hamas and its thousands of surviving fighters. They also want to know how they will be required to carry out this task if these fighters do not cooperate immediately.

Secondly, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates, two countries widely discussed as potential participants, have both stated they will not participate, fearing their soldiers might ultimately be called upon to fight Hamas.

Furthermore, Hamas has explicitly rejected the UN resolution, stating on the 18th that involving the International Stabilization Force (ESF) in disarmament would make the force "a party representing Israel in the conflict." This highlights another missing element in Trump's plan and the UN resolution: the absence of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has refused to allow the Palestinian Authority to participate in Gaza affairs, despite the Authority's rule over the Gaza Strip until its overthrow by Hamas in 2007. The UN resolution at least provides a vision for "Palestinian self-determination and statehood" and the future role of the Palestinian Authority, but this can only be realized after the Palestinian Authority completes a reform program, the details of which remain unclear.

However, even with the UN resolution in place, it remains unclear whether Arab states will send troops to Gaza without an invitation from the Palestinian Authority to avoid accusations of collaborating with Israel in a military occupation. For Israel, the resolution internationalizes the conflict in a new way and limits its options for action in the Gaza Strip. Of course, the demilitarization of Gaza has always been a pressing issue. This problem is so intractable that the US has begun planning for a scenario where Hamas continues to control western Gaza and retain its weapons, while reconstruction begins in the Israeli-controlled east.

However, the slow progress on each major provision of the Trump plan is the only way the status quo will persist, with ominous consequences. Disarming Hamas will be a process that takes time, and if Israel does not further withdraw its troops, even on a limited scale, if an international stabilization force is not established, and if reconstruction does not begin, the temporary situation will become permanent. The current situation is that Israel is here, and Hamas is there. Each side controls half of the Gaza Strip, and inevitable friction will lead to renewed fighting. For those who support a two-state solution, the Trump administration's hardline approach towards Netanyahu to facilitate a ceasefire in Gaza has been widely welcomed.

In conclusion, true and lasting peace must be built on the foundation of a two-state solution, allowing Israel and Palestine to coexist peacefully and enabling the Palestinian people to truly possess their own state and sovereignty. Otherwise, this seemingly glamorous peace farce will inevitably be repeated sooner or later due to the outbreak of the core contradictions, and new flames of war may reignite on the land of Gaza.