ISTANBUL

Russia said Tuesday that the UN Security Council’s adoption of a US-drafted resolution on Gaza contradicts international legal decisions on the establishment of the State of Palestine.

On Monday, the Security Council adopted a resolution that establishes a transitional Board of Peace and authorizes an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to oversee governance, reconstruction and security efforts in the Gaza Strip, both of which will operate in Gaza until Dec. 31, 2027, subject to further action by the Council.

It passed with 13 votes in favor, while Russia and China abstained.

Since October 2023, nearly 69,500 Palestinians have been killed—mostly women and children—and more than 170,700 wounded in Israel’s war, which has reduced much of the enclave to rubble.

Commenting on the decision, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the resolution does not grant the Security Council the “necessary prerogatives to maintain peace and security.”

It argued in a press release that it is contrary to “generally recognized international legal decisions that provide for the creation of an independent and territorially contiguous State of Palestine within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, coexisting in peace and security with Israel.”

Noting that Russia abstained during Monday’s vote, taking into account the position of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Arab and Muslim countries supporting the resolution, the statement further said its abstention sought to “avoid a relapse into violence and military action in Gaza.”

It said the war in Gaza could have been stopped earlier if Washington did not use its veto power against draft resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire, noting it has done so six times over the past two years.

“The main thing now is that this decision does not become a cover for uncontrolled experiments in the occupied Palestinian territory, and does not turn into a final verdict on the legitimate rights of Palestinians to self-determination, or the aspirations of Israelis for security and peaceful coexistence in the region,” it added.

Earlier, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, explained Moscow’s abstention, saying it did so because the plan sidelined Palestine’s participation.

“Neither is there any clarity in the draft regarding the timelines for the transfer of control over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, nor any certainty vis-a-vis the Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force, which…will be able to act absolutely autonomously, without any regard for Ramallah's position and opinion,” he told the Security Council after the vote.