The United States is pressuring nations in the United Nations Security Council to accept President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, while giving little room for negotiation on how to apply it, the New York Times reported, citing seven sources.
The sources claimed the US came with a take-it-or-leave-it message to the council.
US Ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, reportedly told these diplomats that the alternative to Trump's plan was for Israel and Hamas to give way to a return to war.
Diplomats pointed out that much of Trump's plan still leaves ambiguities, including how to demilitarize Gaza.
The plan would include the "Board of Peace," governing Gaza until at least 2027, the establishment of a "technocratic Palestinian government," and an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would be responsible for “ensuring the process of demilitarizing” the territory, including destroying military infrastructure in Gaza and decommissioning militant groups’ weaponry.
UN to give feedback by Friday
According to a US Official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the UNSC nations are set to give feedback on the Gaza draft resolution on Friday.
The US formally circulated the draft resolution to the 15 council members late on Wednesday and has said it has regional support from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates for the text.
"The message is: if the region is with one on this and the region is with one on how this resolution is constructed, then we believe that the council should be as well," the senior US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
When asked when the draft text could be put to a vote, the official said, "The sooner that we move, the better. We're looking at weeks, not months."
"Russia and China will certainly have their inputs, and we'll take those as they come. But at the end of the day, I do not see those countries standing in the way and blocking what is probably the most promising plan for peace in a generation," the official said.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that the international force would deploy "very soon." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio then noted that the countries volunteering to contribute troops "need this UN mandate in order to be able to do it."
Reuters contributed to this report.