UN resolution gives legitimacy to Trump's Gaza peace plan. Now for the tough part

Plan offers only sketchy promises about rebuilding, future administration of enclave

- Jonathan Eyal Global Affairs Correspondent

Yet, during the early hours of Nov 18 and soon after the UN Security Council voted in favour of a US-drafted resolution that endorses his plan for peace in Gaza, he hailed the move as one of "true historic proportions" and praised the international organisation for "furthering peace all over the world".

This is, of course, a typical Trump exaggeration. Far from being a coherent document, the plan approved by the Security Council is just a list of sketchy promises about the reconstruction and future administration of Gaza.

Nor does Mr Trump see the council as having much of a say in the fate of the Palestinians; in the US President's vision, the UN is not an actor but just a stage for diplomatic manoeuvring.

Nonetheless, the council's resolution is an important step in handling the Gaza crisis, for it gives the US plan for the postwar order in the Gaza Strip a basis under international law. And it offers the only reliable guide into the region's future.

The initial phase of the plan - a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian radical organisation in charge of Gaza, and the subsequent exchange of hostages and detainees between the two of them came into force on Oct 10.

The ceasefire is still holding, although as US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz readily admitted, this remains just a "fragile first step".

The key next stage is the establishment of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to be deployed to the territory, with the task of "supporting the demilitarisation of Gaza" and "ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians", as Mr Waltz put it.

This should be followed by the creation of a so-called Board of Peace (BoP) to serve as the overall authority ensuring Gaza's administration, civilian aid procedures and future reconstruction efforts.