By Leonard Grunstein, JNS
It is noteworthy not only because of what it says but because of what it doesn’t say.
The U.N. Security Council voted on Nov. 17 to adopt Resolution 2803 regarding the Gaza Strip by what amounts to an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 13-0, including Arab and Muslim countries, and supported by a host of others. None of the 15 members of the UNSC voted against the resolution, and only two abstained: Russia and China.
The resolution is noteworthy not only because of what it says but because of what it doesn’t say. It fully endorses the 20-point plan negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump with sign on from the parties involved, as well as the surrounding and other countries, which is annexed to the resolution.
The Board of Peace to be established under the plan is recognized as the international legal governing authority of the Gaza Strip. It is vested with authority to establish its own international legal operational entities to perform its functions, including governance, day-to-day administration and operations of the Strip, as well as implementation of the plan.
Implicitly excluded from these functions are the United Nations and its agencies, like the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in addition to the Palestinian Authority, Hamas or any other actors.
The board is also authorized to establish an International Stabilization Force (ISF) under a unified command acceptable to its members, and in close cooperation with Egypt and Israel, to be deployed to assure the demilitarization of Gaza. This includes the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror and non-state armed groups, and such additional tasks as may be necessary in support of the plan.
Under the plan, Hamas and other factions are not to have any role in the governance of Gaza directly, indirectly or in any form. All military, terror and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon-production facilities, are to be destroyed and not rebuilt. A guarantee is to be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas and the factions comply with the foregoing and that Gaza poses no threat to its neighbors or its people.
The P.A. has no role in this effort. It must first complete its reform program as outlined in the plan. Only once the Gaza redevelopment advances under the plan and after the P.A. reform program is faithfully carried out, may the conditions finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. Under the plan, the United States is to establish dialogue between the State of Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.
The resolution effectively negates any recognition of a Palestinian state at present or otherwise outside of the terms of the resolution. This includes the misguided efforts to recognize the P.A. as a state by the United Kingdom and France, as well as other U.N. members, such as Canada and Australia, all of whom are bound by the resolution. Interestingly, there is no explicit legal obligation to create a Palestinian state under this resolution; it merely recites the threshold conditions that must be satisfied to have a pathway for self-determination and statehood.
The resolution also does not recognize that there is or ever was any so-called “occupation,” “right of return,” “genocide,” “starvation,” “apartheid” or “justifiable resistance.” Hamas and its cohorts are the wrongdoers and the resolution is directed against them and in support of Israel’s just defensive war. Indeed, the resolution explicitly notes that Gaza threatens the security of neighboring states. It can well be asserted that all the libels against Israel relating to Gaza and the Palestinians have effectively been debunked as a matter of international law by the resolution. The Resolution is effectively a restatement of international law that exonerates Israel and casts Hamas and its cohorts as the wrongdoers.
Hamas has been defeated militarily and politically. The board and ISF have the clean-up job, with Israel there on-site until the job is fully completed. Thereafter, Israel is entitled to remain with a security perimeter presence until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
Israel fought a just, defensive war against belligerent, vicious, murderous and terrorist Hamas and its cohorts. The UNSC and those supporting the plan recognize this and, by virtue thereof, the resolution is designed to eliminate Hamas and its cohorts—as the wrongdoers—from having any role in the governance of Gaza, as well as to destroy their capacity to do any more harm to Israel and the neighboring countries.
May the blessings of peace prevail.
