US says its plan for postwar management of Gaza offers pathway to Palestinian statehood

The US organizes a joint statement with Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey in support of Washington’s UN Security Council resolution to establish an International Stabilization Force in Gaza amid pushback from Russia and China.

“We are issuing this statement as the member states that gathered during [UN General Assembly] High-Level Week (in September) to begin this process, which offers a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” the statement reads.

“We emphasize that this is a sincere effort, and the Plan provides a viable path towards peace and stability, not only between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but for the entire region,” the joint statement continues. We are looking forward to this resolution’s swift adoption.”

US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan states that the conditions “may” be in place for “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” while “Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out.”

The joint statement notably appears to go further than the text of the plan by not leaving the question of a political horizon up for debate.

While the US surely needed to compromise on the language of the joint statement in order to get so many other countries on board and may never use such rhetoric in favor of Palestinian statehood on its own, the fact that it signed onto such a statement is quite extraordinary.

Despite the language of the 20-point plan, Trump has gone on the record in recent weeks saying that he hasn’t even decided whether he’ll back a two-state solution. Israel is vehemently opposed to the framework.