By Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON -The UN Security Council was set to vote later on Monday on a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump's peace plan for 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 a UN resolution is seen as vital to legitimize a transitional governance
body and to reassure countries considering sending troops to Gaza.
The 15-member council is scheduled to vote on the resolution at 5 p.m. ET (2200 GMT).
The latest draft of the resolution, seen by Reuters, says member states can take part in the so-called 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, signaled potential opposition to the resolution last week when it presented a rival resolution that requests the UN explore options for an international force in Gaza.
But a statement on Friday from the Palestinian Authority backing the U.S.-drafted resolution bolstered its chances of passing.
"We expect broad support for the resolution," said one diplomat at the UN, requesting anonymity to discuss negotiations on the resolution. "Although Russia has at times hinted at a possible veto, it would be difficult to oppose a text backed by Palestine and the region." That would likely also be the case for China, which also holds a veto, the diplomat said.
The resolution has proved controversial in Israel because it references a future possibility of statehood for the Palestinians.
The latest draft says the "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.
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)
