A displaced Palestinian man carries his belongings west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip as a low-pressure system impacts the area. AFP
Hamas official Hazem Qassem told Al Jazeera that the proposed changes “do not serve the stability of the situation in Gaza,” adding that the group seeks a Security Council resolution that “protects the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and prevents further war on Gaza.”
Qassem emphasized that Hamas wants a resolution that halts the expansion of Israeli aggression, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, and accused the United States of “trying to satisfy certain parties with non-binding language.”
He said the alternative should be “a resolution that reinforces a ceasefire and deploys an international peacekeeping force in Gaza.”
The UN Security Council will vote Monday on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, according to diplomats.
Last week, the US officially launched negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a text that would follow up on a ceasefire in Gaza.
A draft of the resolution seen Thursday by AFP "welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace," a transitional governing body for Gaza -- that Trump would theoretically chair -- with a mandate running until the end of 2027.
It would authorize member states to form a "temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)" that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.
Unlike previous drafts, the latest mentions a possible future Palestinian state.
While it seemed until now that Council members supported principles of the peace plan, diplomatic sources noted there were questions about the US text, particularly regarding the absence of a monitoring mechanism by the Council, the role of the Palestinian Authority, and details of the ISF's mandate.
Old Gaza !!
Amid recent reports suggesting that the United States, with Israeli approval, may be considering a scenario that divides the Gaza Strip into a western area under Hamas control and an eastern zone under Israeli occupation authority, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Katz claimed that “a US-led multinational force is expected to take on the mission of disarming Hamas and removing its military capabilities in what is referred to as ‘old Gaza,’” a term used to describe areas still controlled by the resistance group.
Katz added that the Israeli operation to destroy Hamas tunnels on the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza is “progressing well,” according to the Times of Israel.
A report by The Guardian on Friday indicated that the US is planning a long-term division of Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would begin, and a “red zone” that would remain in ruins.
According to US military planning documents seen by the newspaper, foreign forces would initially deploy alongside Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza, effectively leaving the territory divided along the current Israeli-controlled Yellow Line.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, reiterated that Hamas “will be disarmed, either the easy way or the hard way.”
Speaking at the opening of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said: “I don’t need reinforcements, tweets, or lectures from anyone.”
He added that Israel’s opposition to establishing a Palestinian state “on any part of the land has not changed.”
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