US, Muslim states urge 'swift adoption' of UN Gaza resolution

The United States and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey called Friday for the UN Security Council to quickly adopt a US resolution endorsing Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza.

"The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye express our joint support for the Security Council Resolution currently under consideration," the countries said in a joint statement, adding they were seeking the measure's "swift adoption."

A draft of the resolution seen Thursday by AFP "welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace," a transitional governing body for Gaza — that Trump would theoretically chair — with a mandate running until the end of 2027.

It would authorize member states to form a "temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)" that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

Unlike previous drafts, the latest mentions a possible future Palestinian state.

Friday's joint statement comes as Russia circulated a competing draft resolution to Council members that does not authorize the creation of a board of peace or the immediate deployment of an international force in Gaza, according to the text seen Friday by AFP.

The Russian version welcomes "the initiative that led to the ceasefire" but does not name Trump.

"Attempts to sow discord now — when agreement on this resolution is under active negotiation — has grave, tangible, and entirely avoidable consequences for Palestinians in Gaza," a spokesperson for the US mission at the United Nations said in a statement.

While it seemed until now that Council members supported principles of the peace plan, diplomatic sources noted there were multiple questions about the US text, particularly regarding the absence of a monitoring mechanism by the Council, the role of the Palestinian Authority, and details of the ISF's mandate.

Amid Israel's campaign to disable the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, Pakistan has fervently called on the international community to ensure that this "vital" institution was protected and enabled to discharge its mandate without hindrance.

"By undermining the Agency, Israel seeks to remove the last remaining structure that sustains Palestinian refugees," Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the General Assembly's Fourth Committee, which deals with special political and decolonization issues.

Speaking in a debate on the work of UNRWA, he highlighted the "gravest assault" the humanitarian agency now faces, with its mandate questioned, staff vilified, facilities attacked, threatening its very existence.