UN Security Council adopts US resolution on Trump's Gaza plan

The UN Security Council on Monday voted to adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza and authorizing an international stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave.

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed last month to the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza - a ceasefire in their two-year war and a hostage-release deal - but the UN resolution is seen as vital to legitimizing a transitional governance body and reassuring countries that are considering sending troops to Gaza.

The text of the resolution says member states can take part in the Board of Peace envisioned as a transitional authority that would oversee reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza. It also authorizes the international stabilization force, which would ensure a process of demilitarizing Gaza, including by decommissioning weapons and destroying military infrastructure.

Trump's 20-point plan is included as an annex to the resolution.

Russia, which holds a veto on the Security Council, earlier signaled potential opposition to the resolution but abstained from the vote, allowing the resolution to pass.

The Palestinian Authority issued a statement on Friday backing the U.S.-drafted resolution. 

The resolution has proved controversial in Israel because it references a future possibility of statehood for the Palestinians.

The resolution's text says that  "conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood" once the Palestinian Authority has carried out a reform program and Gaza's redevelopment has advanced.

"The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence," it says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from right-wing members of his government, said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state and pledged to demilitarize Gaza "the easy way or the hard way."

Hamas has so far refused to disarm. An umbrella group of Hamas-led Palestinian factions issued a statement late on Sunday against the resolution, calling it a dangerous step toward imposing foreign guardianship over the territory, and said the proposed resolution serves Israeli interests.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; additional reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Rod Nickel)