On Monday, the UN Security Council voted to endorse the Trump administration’s “International Stabilization Force” in Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza say it is just a new face of the same Israeli occupation.
By Tareq S. Hajjaj November 18, 20250
A general view of the extensive destruction in the Zeitoun
neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, on November 17, 2025. (Photo: Omar
Ashtawy/APA Images)
The UN Security Council voted on Monday in favor of a U.S.-backed resolution establishing an “International Stabilization Force” (ISF) in Gaza under a “Board of Peace” headed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Under a two-year mandate, the stabilization force is reportedly planned to have an “executive” role in Gaza, not just as a peacekeeping force. The ISF is being established under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which means it is being granted the authority to disarm Palestinian resistance factions, aligning with Israeli demands, and could be established unilaterally, without the approval of the Palestinians.
The UN Security Council resolution voted 13-0 in favor of the resolution, with two permanent members, Russia and China, abstaining from the vote.
Hamas rejected and condemned the resolution, asserting that it does not satisfy the rights of the Palestinian people and imposes an international system of “guardianship” over Gaza, something the Palestinian people and Palestinian factions reject.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also rejected the resolution, saying it amounts to a new Western “mandate” over Palestine.
In Gaza, local reactions to the UN vote varied, but very few viewed the development as hopeful.
Nader Qassem, one of the displaced in Gaza City, expressed his resentment over the resolution to Mondoweiss, pointing out that it is nothing more than a retrenchment of the Israeli occupation.
“Receiving the news was highly shocking to many families, including mine,” Qassem said. “After a long episode of suffering that has lasted through two years of death…after all this, we’re placed under international supervision?”
“It’s as if we are a people without a right to self-determination or the right to decide who protects us and manages our affairs,” he continued. “This is a disregard for our suffering in Gaza. The world is conspiring against us through international agreements that don’t serve the citizenry, helping out the occupier and its partners instead.”
Qassem adds that the ISF will not help preserve stability either. “This force will not be in a position to maintain security if it does not represent the Palestinians and if it does not result from a joint Palestinian process.”
“This force will increase the burdens of the Palestinian people and increase their suffering,” Qassem said.
“It’s as if we in Gaza have no opinion, no sovereignty over ourselves, not even a decision on who governs us,” Qassem continued.
Qassem also said that such decisions make Palestinians lose hope in reconstruction and returning to live in proper homes instead of tents. He also added that the vote makes it clear that the world is ignoring Palestinian rights and sovereignty when it gives guardianship to those who have no right to be in this land.
“These international forces,” Qassam explained, “belong to their countries and will not be closely connected to the Palestinians. They will not know the requirements of the Palestinian people and will not be able to provide them with safety or protection, because they do not know what the people of Gaza suffer or what they need. Whoever governs us must be from among us, aware of our suffering, so that they can solve these problems and provide us with a dignified life. These forces will not provide political, economic, or even social support to the population in Gaza.”
Others in Gaza agree that the stabilization force is a recipe for disaster. The minute it arrives in Gaza, it will be forced to engage in armed confrontations and start arresting people in Gaza, following Israeli recommendations. This will turn the international force into “a new occupation,” Gaza residents say.
Samir Al-Bakri, a resident of Gaza City, says that any force that is formed will be totally rejected by Palestinians so long as it isn’t formed through a Palestinian national consensus process.
Al-Bakri tells Mondoweiss that the international force will constitute a new occupation of the Strip. “Look at Lebanon. There is an international force operating in Lebanese territory, but does it prevent the daily shelling of Lebanon?” al-Bakri says. “No. Every day, we see Israeli shelling of Lebanese land and continual Israeli violations.”
“It is as if the mission of the international force coming to Gaza is to protect Israel’s borders from Palestinians without offering anything in return to us,” al-Bakri continued. “And it won’t even offer us any real protection either; it won’t prevent Israel from carrying out its military operations or aerial bombardments of Gaza. It may even help Israel achieve its goals.”
The greatest fear, according to al-Bakri, is the confrontation between Palestinians in Gaza and these international forces, and the emergence of new problems with the countries that send these forces—including Egypt and Qatar. “We fear that our disputes will become with Egypt instead of Israel, and with Qatar as well, and this is what they are trying to establish.”
“If the international force arrests one of my relatives, there will be no enemy to confront except this international force composed of Egyptians and Qataris,” he explained. “They will become our enemies instead of the Israelis. And this force will serve as a helping hand for the Israelis to achieve their objectives.”
“After all this suffering, the Palestinian people deserve a unified Palestinian force, of the people and for them, to manage their affairs,” al-Bakri added. “It is a renewal of the Israeli occupation. The UN is rewarding us with a new occupation.”
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