After UN Critique, Trump Admin Seeks Gaza Mandate

By Staff, Agencies

The US admitted it may need to ask the United Nations for a mandate for an international stabilization force to enter Gaza, a move that somewhat confounds the Trump administration’s antipathy towards the international organization.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was in the process of “standing up” a civil-military coordination center to monitor the Gaza ceasefire and would then consider “going to the UN potentially and getting the international mandate, building the international defense security forces”.

US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan calls for an Arab-Muslim international force, with the US discussing contributions from Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.

Middle East Eye reports Egypt lobbied for a UN mandate and US troop deployment in Gaza to prevent "Israeli" violations, but VP JD Vance ruled out US involvement.

The Trump administration's bid to secure a UN mandate would be laden with irony, given its hostility to the organization, particularly regarding the "Israel"-Palestine conflict and war on Gaza.

At the UN General Assembly, Trump mocked the UN as full of “empty words” and blamed it for an escalator malfunction, threatening an investigation.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration sanctioned UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese, accused of “contempt” for the US and allies, while also cutting funding to the Palestinian refugee agency and leaving the UN Human Rights Council

In Gaza, Trump shifted from backing the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation [GHF] to recognizing the UN for aid, a move now mirrored in his plan for an international force.

“Some of these countries are going to require an international mandate in order to be able to send forces abroad,” Rubio said on Thursday before departing for "Israel".

Experts say that Arab and Muslim states want the UN’s seal of approval to gain legitimacy with their populations and Palestinians in Gaza.

“For the force to be seen as legitimate by the Palestinians, it must not be perceived as contracted by 'Israel',” Jean Marie Guehenno, the former UN undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, now at Columbia University said.

UN “blue helmet” peacekeepers have served in 61 missions, including Bosnia, Haiti, and southern Lebanon, with 11 ongoing deployments today.

A proposed Gaza force would resemble Haiti’s Kenyan-led, US-supported mission, UN-mandated but not under the UN secretary-general’s command.

Arab and western diplomats previously said they believe getting a mandate is achievable.

“China and Russia have veto power, but the fact that so many Arab and Muslim countries want a UN stamp of approval makes it unlikely they decide to act as spoilers,” one western diplomat in the region stated.