Russia has slammed a controversial US-backed plan to deploy a so-called International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, saying it “is reminiscent of colonial practices,” and risks sidelining the Palestinians.
The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution establishing the international force in Gaza. The resolution, put forward by the Trump administration, received 13 votes in favor and none against, with the permanent members China and Russia abstaining.
Russia had circulated a rival proposal with stronger language supporting a Palestinian state, stressing that the West Bank and Gaza must be joined as a state under the Palestinian Authority.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said on Tuesday that Moscow abstained because the proposal lacked transparency, excluded Palestinian input, and granted Washington excessive control over Gaza under the guise of peacekeeping.
He warned that the international force could become “a fig leaf for unbridled experiments conducted by the US in Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
According to Nebenzia, the force “would appear to be able to act absolutely autonomously without any regard for the position or the opinion of Ramallah.”
Such an approach, he said, risks entrenching the long-feared separation of Gaza from the occupied West Bank.
Nebenzia also drew a direct comparison to the colonial era, saying the plan “is reminiscent of colonial practices… when the opinion of Palestinians themselves was not taken into account.”
Moscow has raised questions about the mandate of the ISF under Trump’s plan, warning that its undefined “peace enforcement tasks” could effectively turn it into a combat actor rather than a neutral peacekeeping presence.
The new force, Nebenzia said, risks becoming another instrument of US control rather than a stabilizing presence for Palestinians.
The force, reportedly to be formed by the US, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, would operate under the pretext of reconstruction and security.
Trump celebrated the vote as “a moment of true historic proportion” in a social media post, saying that “the members of the Board, and many more exciting announcements, will be made in the coming weeks.”
After the vote, Hamas rejected the plan as an imposed “international guardianship mechanism” and insisted it would not disarm.
Rights groups have also warned that Trump’s proposal ignores the core issues of Israeli occupation, accountability for war crimes, and Palestinians’ right to self-determination and compensation.
IMAGE CREDIT: Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia speaks during a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on July 2, 2024. (AFP)
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and NEWS AGENCIES ]
