US Proposes Gaza Stabilization Force   11/05 06:01

   The United States has circulated draft text for a U.N. Security Council 
resolution that would provide a mandate for an international stabilization 
force in Gaza for at least two years, marking the next step in President Donald 
Trump's plan to halt two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

   UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United States has circulated draft text for a 
U.N. Security Council resolution that would provide a mandate for an 
international stabilization force in Gaza for at least two years, marking the 
next step in President Donald Trump's plan to halt two years of war between 
Israel and Hamas.

   The draft, confirmed to The Associated Press by two U.S. officials, is an 
early template for what would likely be extensive negotiations between members 
of the 15-member council and other international partners. The officials, who 
spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said 
the draft is being discussed and changed based on those discussions.

   Arab and other countries that have expressed interest in participating in 
the stabilization force have indicated that U.N. backing of the plan is 
necessary to persuade them to contribute troops.

   "What we believe is that whatever entity that is created in Gaza should have 
the legitimacy of a mandate from the Security Council," U.N. Secretary-General 
Antonio Guterres told reporters in Doha.

   The draft was circulated Tuesday afternoon and has been prepared as a 
starting point to find consensus that would give the stabilization force and 
participating countries an international mandate.

   China and Russia -- two of the permanent members of the council -- will 
likely become the biggest opposition for the U.S. as it tries to push through a 
resolution without either country vetoing it.

   The draft calls for the force to ensure "the process of demilitarizing the 
Gaza Strip" and "the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed 
groups." A big question in Trump's 20-step plan for a ceasefire and 
reconstruction in the territory is the way to disarm Hamas, which has not fully 
accepted that step.

   The draft would give countries participating in the stabilization force a 
broad mandate to provide security in Gaza through the end of 2027, working with 
a yet-to-be-established "Board of Peace" that would temporarily govern the 
territory. The draft calls for the force to closely consult and cooperate with 
Egypt and Israel.

   The text also says the stabilization troops would help secure border areas, 
along with a Palestinian police force that they have trained and vetted, as 
well as coordinate with other countries to secure the flow of humanitarian 
assistance. It also emphasizes the "full resumption" of aid to Gaza by the 
United Nations, Red Cross and Red Crescent and ensuring that those needed 
supplies are not diverted.

   Hamish Falconer, Britain's minister for the Middle East and North Africa, 
told the AP recently that the focus for the U.K. is ensuring the fragile 
ceasefire holds and that scaled-up aid keeps flowing. He said many questions 
surround phase two of Trump's plan and that the implementation of the first 
phase is still unfinished.

   Falconer said it's important for any stabilization force in Gaza to be 
"underpinned by a Security Council mandate."

   Axios first reported on the draft.