Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s stance against the creation of a Palestinian state “has not changed,” one day before the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council is scheduled to vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution on Gaza.
The proposed resolution, which backs President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, says that after specific reforms there could be “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
Why It Matters
The United States has introduced a draft U.N. resolution supporting Trump’s Gaza peace framework and authorizing an International Stabilization Force for the territory. The text also endorses Palestinian self-determination and the potential establishment of a Palestinian state, contingent on a set of conditions.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on the resolution Monday, nearly two weeks after U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz first circulated a draft.
The initial phase of Trump’s proposal centers on a ceasefire and an exchange involving Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages. These steps follow the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and about 250 hostages were taken. Israel responded with extensive ground and air operations that have killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, according to the Associated Press.
Later stages of the plan focus on demilitarizing Gaza and deploying stabilization forces. Supporters see it as the most comprehensive attempt yet to secure a long-term arrangement between Israel and Hamas, after previous agreements produced only short-lived ceasefires.
What To Know
During a government meeting Sunday, Netanyahu declared: “Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. Gaza will be demilitarized, and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets, or lectures.”
He added that Israel’s opposition “to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan River…is existing, valid, and has not changed one bit.”
Israel has consistently rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state while expanding settlements in territories many in the international community consider illegally occupied. Calls for Palestinian statehood have intensified during the Israel-Hamas war, with the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada all formally recognizing a Palestinian state in September. More than 150 countries worldwide recognize Palestinian statehood.
Trump’s plan leaves open the possibility of a Palestinian state but does not promise one. It says that only after reforms to the Palestinian Authority and reconstruction in Gaza will there be “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.” The conditions for this pathway, and who would determine whether they have been met, remain vague.
Critics argue the proposal would give the Trump administration outsized influence over Gaza’s political and security future without truly advancing Palestinian statehood. Some of Israel’s strongest backers, meanwhile, say the plan hands too much authority to a new governing structure in Gaza and could weaken Israel’s security.
The proposal also calls for the creation of a “Board of Peace” to supervise implementation of the plan, including oversight of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) and broader governance issues.
What People Are Saying
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a Sunday post on X in Hebrew: “Israel’s policy is clear: no Palestinian state will be established. The IDF will remain at the peak of Mount Hermon and in the security zone. Gaza will be de-fortified down to the last tunnel and Hamas will be disarmed in the yellow side by the IDF and in the old Gaza by the international force – or by the IDF.”
The Palestinian Youth Movement, a grassroots organization formed in response to the Oslo Accords, said in a Sunday post on X: “We reject the American and imperialist attempt, through this UNSC resolution, to rehabilitate and further entrench the Zionist project in Palestine and across the Arab World. We call upon people of conscience everywhere to continue the struggle against this resolution and all that it represents.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a November 14 post on X: “@POTUS’ historic Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict is the best path to peace in the Middle East. Our UN Security Council Resolution will enable that plan and enjoys broad international and regional support. We are grateful to Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye for their endorsement. The Middle East has never been this close to a real and lasting peace.”
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, wrote in a November 12 X post: “Talk of drafting a Palestinian constitution sounds premature when the Palestinian people, and their future, risk being erased from what remains of their homeland. States must start by upholding the ICJ’s call to end Israel’s illegal occupation.”
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz wrote in the Washington Post on Friday: “Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict. Every departure from this path, be it by those who wish to play political games or to relitigate the past, will come with a real human cost that can be measured in the number of lives lost.”
The Crisis Group said in a November 15 post on X: “After many fruitless debates over Gaza since October 2023, UN Security Council members welcome the idea that they can play a role in ending the war. The draft U.S. resolution has, however, created many concerns.”
Craig Mokhiber, a human rights lawyer and former United Nations human rights official, wrote in a Saturday post on X: “The US is pushing for a vote on the UN Security Council by Monday on the US-Israel colonial land grab in Gaza. The US draft would ignore the findings of the International Court of Justice and UN human rights bodies, violate key provisions of international law, reward and normalize the perpetrators of the genocide, punish the victims, consolidate the unlawful occupation, and further deny Palestinian self-determination. China and Russia (which has introduced an alternative draft) are so far holding firm against the US plot, and UNSC member Algeria is pushing for meaningful revisions. Sadly, several regional collaborators are supporting the US-Israel draft. Among them are non-members Qatar, Egypt, and the UAE, as well as Indonesia, and UNSC member Pakistan. This must be blocked. And the rest of the world must prepare to act in the UNGA on the Colombia proposal under Uniting for Peace to protect Palestinian human rights and hold the Israeli regime accountable.”
What Happens Next?
Russia, one of the Security Council’s five permanent members with veto power, has introduced a competing resolution that is more direct in its support for Palestinian statehood.
The U.S.-backed proposal is scheduled to come to a vote on Monday.
