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The United Nations Security Council convened on Wednesday, urging the transformation of the Gaza ceasefire into a lasting peace agreement. Members strongly criticized Israel’s plans to expand its influence in the West Bank, highlighting the risk these actions pose to the viability of a two-state solution. This gathering took place just ahead of President Donald Trump’s inaugural Board of Peace meeting, aimed at addressing the future of Palestinian territories.
The U.N.’s high-level session, initially slated for Thursday, was advanced to avoid logistical clashes with Trump’s scheduled event. This adjustment underscores potential tensions between the United Nations’ authoritative body and Trump’s burgeoning peace initiative. Concerns have surfaced that the latter might seek to compete with or undermine the influence of the U.N. Security Council in resolving global conflicts.
During the session, Pakistan—uniquely positioned as the sole member of the 15-member council to also join Trump’s Board of Peace—voiced strong opposition to Israel’s controversial West Bank settlement plans. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned these expansions as “null and void,” labeling them a blatant breach of international law.
“Israel’s recent illegal decisions to expand its control over the West Bank are gravely disturbing,” Dar asserted, reflecting a widespread sentiment among council members.
In addition to Pakistan, foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Indonesia were present at the Security Council’s monthly Middle East meeting. This gathering was prompted by requests from numerous Arab and Islamic nations eager to address issues in Gaza and the West Bank before heading to Washington for further discussions.
“Annexation is a breach of the U.N. Charter and of the most fundamental rules of international law,” Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour said. “It is a breach of President Trump’s plan, and constitutes an existential threat to ongoing peace efforts.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that attention was not on the U.N. session and that the focus of the international world would be on the Board of Peace meeting.
Saar also accused the council of being “infected with an anti-Israeli obsession” and insisted that no nation has a stronger right than its “historical and documented right to the land of the Bible.”
Bigger ambitions for the Board of Peace
The board to be chaired by Trump was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing his 20-point plan for Gaza’s future. But the Republican president’s new vision for the board to be a mediator of worldwide conflicts has led to skepticism from major allies.
While more than 20 countries have so far accepted an invitation to join the board, close U.S. partners, including France, Germany and others, have opted not to join yet and renewed support for the U.N., which also is in the throes of major reforms and funding cuts.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said there is an opportunity for the U.N.’s most powerful body to help build “a better future” for Israelis and Palestinians despite the “cycle of violence and suffering” over the more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas.
“Gaza must not get stuck in a no man’s land between peace and war,” Cooper said as she opened the meeting.
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., appeared to criticize countries that had not yet signed on to the Board of Peace, saying that unlike the Security Council, the board is “not talking, it is doing.”
“We are hearing the chattering class criticizing the structure of the board, that it’s unconventional, that it’s unprecedented,” Waltz said Wednesday. “Again, the old ways were not working.”
The Security Council is meeting a day after nearly all of its 15 members — minus the United States — and dozens of other diplomats joined Palestinian ambassador Mansour as he read a statement on behalf of 80 countries and several organizations condemning Israel’s latest actions in the West Bank, demanding an immediate reversal and underlining “strong opposition to any form of annexation.”
In the last several weeks, Israel has launched a contentious land regulation process that will deepen its control in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said it amounts to “de facto sovereignty” that will block the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Outraged Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights groups have called the moves an illegal annexation of the territory, home to roughly 3.4 million Palestinians who seek it for a future state.
‘A pivotal moment in the Middle East’
The U.N. meeting also delved into the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal that took effect Oct. 10. U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo and Israeli and Palestinian civil society representatives gave briefings for the first time since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that launched the war.
Hiba Qasas, a Palestinian who is founding executive director of Geneva-based Principles for Peace Foundation, and Nadav Tamir, a former Israeli diplomat who is executive director of J Street Israel, both said they represent a strong coalition of Israelis and Palestinians who believe the only way to end the conflict is through a two-state solution.
“Israel cannot remain the democratic homeland of the Jewish people if Palestinians are denied a homeland of their own. Our futures are interdependent,” Tamir said.
DiCarlo of the U.N. said this is “a pivotal moment in the Middle East” that opens the possibility for the region to move in a new direction. “But that opening is neither assured nor indefinite,” she said, and whether it will be sustained depends on decisions in the coming weeks.
“The Board of Peace meeting in Washington, D.C., tomorrow is an important step,” she said.
Aspects of the ceasefire deal have moved forward, including Hamas releasing all the hostages it was holding and increased amounts of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza, though the U.N. says the level is insufficient. A new technocratic committee has been appointed to administer Gaza’s daily affairs.
But the most challenging steps lie ahead, including the deployment of an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza.
Trump said this week that the Board of Peace members have pledged $5 billion toward Gaza reconstruction and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory. He didn’t provide details. Indonesia’s military says up to 8,000 of its troops are expected to be ready by the end of June for a potential deployment to Gaza as part of a humanitarian and peace mission.