Mike Waltz

UN Security Council Gaza Stabilization Force Draft Resolution S/2025/748 Pre-Vote Address

delivered 17 November, UNHQ, New York, NY

Audio mp3 of Address       Audio AR-XE mp3 of Address

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

Thank you, Mr. President.

Colleagues, for two agonizing years, Gaza, home to over two million souls, has been a crucible of conflict, a hell on earth, where Hamas’s brutality and terror met Israel’s fierce response, leaving rubble where schools once stood and graves where playgrounds thrived. The death toll climbs into the tens of thousands; hunger gnaws at the vulnerable; and hope flickers like a candle in a storm. But colleagues, here today, November 17th, we stand at a crossroads. Today, we have the power to douse the flames and light a path to peace.

That path is the draft United Nations Security Council resolution¹ before us -- a bold, pragmatic blueprint born from President Trump’s 20-point Comprehensive Plan [to] End the Gaza Conflict, forged in the fires of diplomacy with Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, [Jordan], Türkiye, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Those countries stood with President Trump -- right back here in this -- in this very chamber, right in this room. They stood with him during the UN General Assembly High Level Week just eight weeks ago, and they have now publicly stood for this resolution. Over a dozen European heads of state, including the EU, the Secretary-General, and Mahmoud Abbas stood with President Trump then at Sharm El-Sheikh after presenting - after he presented his plan to the Israeli Knesset.

So, colleagues I ask you before this vote: With this kind of support, I ask you if the region most affected, the Arab nations, the Muslim majority nations, the Palestinians, and the Israelis can accept this resolution, how could anyone be against it? There is an old saying where I come from: “You can’t be more Catholic than the Pope.” And I ask everyone today, Are you more righteous in this cause than those who must live with it and will ultimately benefit from this plan for peace?

This resolution, colleagues, is no mere paper promise; it’s a lifeline. The resolution endorses a hard-won ceasefire. And I thank Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. I thank my dear friend Jared Kushner, who forged what so many people said was impossible: the hostages -- the living hostages released. There [is] more still absolutely to go, with families suffering, but we have a ceasefire that is holding. Their plan has already silenced the guns and freed 45 hostages in this fragile, fragile first step. And let me be clear: The United States remains committed to ensuring that those remains -- that the remains of the last three hostages held by Hamas must come home.

The resolution authorizes the International Stabilization Force -- a strong coalition of peacekeepers, many from Muslim-majority nations like Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and others -- to deploy under a unified command. These brave souls will secure Gaza’s streets; they will oversee demilitarization; they will protect civilians; and they will escort aid through safe corridors, all while Israel phases out its presence and a vetted Palestinian police force takes on a new role.

At the heart of this plan, colleagues, lies the Board of Peace, a transitional administration with an in -- international, coordinating reconstruction financing from a dedicated trust fund backed by the World Bank itself to rebuild shattered lives. Homes, hospitals, schools -- that’s what we will see with this plan and this resolution; not talking points, but actual deliverables. And crucially, per the carefully negotiated language in the 20-Point Plan, this resolution charts a possible pathway for Palestinian self-determination, after the Palestinian Authority has completed the necessary reforms, where rockets will give way to olive branches and there is a chance to agree on a political horizon. It dismantles Hamas’ grip, it ensures Gaza rises free from terror’s shadow, prosperous and secure.

Now colleagues, we hear critics whispering of challenges. Russia has had a counter-draft. We hear concerns over mandates. But colleagues, hesitation here is the true enemy. We’ve seen ceasefires crumble before; we cannot repeat the definition of insanity here by doing the same thing that was done before; and by returning to the same frameworks and same talking points that will doom us to repeat this horror all over again. Delaying will cost lives. And every day without this Force, aid trucks lie idle, children starve, and the extremists regroup to try to maintain control. So colleagues, voting "yes" today isn’t just endorsing a plan; it’s affirming our shared humanity. It’s telling Gaza’s and Israel’s mothers that the world has not forgotten them.

Adopting this resolution today will prove the United Sta -- the United Nations can still be a beacon, and not just a bystander.

Colleagues, the eyes of history and humanity are upon us -- right here, right now. A vote against this resolution is a vote to return to war. Time is not on the side of peace. This is not the time for endless debate and lawyering. The clock is ticking, like a timebomb. So, let us vote for this resolution not as a compromise, but as a covenant for the children of Gaza; and for peace that endures; and for a Middle East reborn.

Mr. President, I thank you.

¹ In final form, United Nations Security Council draft resolution S/2025/748 was codified as United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803

Original Text Source: usmission.gov

Audio Source: United Nations YouTube Channel

Audio Note: AR-XE = American Rhetoric Extreme Enhancement

Page Updated: 11/20/25

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