A United States Maronite bishop says he is heartened by a United Nations move to approve President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip by installing international transitional governance and military forces there. Source: OSV News.
“I am encouraged by the Security Council’s approval of the United States’ peace plan to end the devastating war in Gaza,” Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, which is based in St. Louis.
Bishop Zaidan is chair of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace
On Monday, the Security Council voted 13-0 in favour of the US-backed “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict”, with Russia and China abstaining.
Bishop Zaidan said the “gesture sends a powerful message that the international community is serious about peace in the Holy Land”.
The vote greenlighted a resolution supporting Mr Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, which calls for establishing a temporary Board of Peace as well as an International Stabilisation Force in Gaza under the board’s governance.
The resolution text also specifies the gradual withdrawal of Israel’s military from Gaza as the stabilisation force provides control.
However, “a security perimeter presence … will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat,” the UN said on Monday.
It also said the board will remain authorised until December 31, 2027, “subject to further Council action.”
The Security Council “underscored the importance of the full resumption of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in cooperation with the Board, in a manner consistent with relevant international legal principles, through cooperating organisations – including the United Nations – and ensuring such aid is not diverted by armed groups”.
Despite the approval, several nations said the plan was insufficiently explicit and did not sufficiently specify a two-state solution to the conflict.
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UN vote on Trump’s Gaza plan ‘sends powerful message’ for peace in Holy Land, says Bishop Zaidan (By Gina Christian, OSV News)
