AhlulBayt News Agency: Russia has strongly criticized a US-backed initiative to deploy an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, calling it “a reminder of colonial practices” and warning that it sidelines Palestinian voices.
On Monday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution to establish the force in Gaza.
The resolution, introduced by the Trump administration, passed with 13 votes in favor and none against, while permanent members China and Russia abstained.
Moscow had earlier circulated an alternative draft emphasizing stronger support for Palestinian statehood, insisting that the West Bank and Gaza must be unified under the Palestinian Authority.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, explained on Tuesday that his country abstained because the plan lacked transparency, excluded Palestinian participation, and gave Washington excessive influence over Gaza under the pretext of peacekeeping.
He cautioned that the force could serve as “a fig leaf for reckless experiments carried out by the US in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Nebenzia added that the ISF “appears able to act entirely on its own without considering the stance or opinion of Ramallah.”
Such a framework, he argued, risks cementing the feared separation of Gaza from the occupied West Bank.
He further likened the plan to colonial-era practices, noting that “the views of Palestinians themselves were not taken into account.”
Moscow also questioned the ISF’s mandate under Trump’s proposal, warning that its vague “peace enforcement tasks” could transform it into a combat force rather than a neutral peacekeeping mission.
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