Amr Hamzawy
The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.Learn More
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, which endorses U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. The resolution features a framework that seeks to link a permanent ceasefire with transitional arrangements for governing the Gaza Strip, gradual steps toward an Israeli military withdrawal, and mechanisms to address Hamas’s disarmament. It also contains an important—albeit unclear—reference to the Palestinians’ right to an independent state in the final outcome. This reference provides the resolution with a strategic dimension that calls upon regional actors—chief among them Egypt—to play an active role in moving Gaza along a viable political trajectory, rather than allowing it to dissolve into administrative, security, and service-delivery details.
The resolution treats Trump’s plan as a binding roadmap that would shift Gaza from a state of conflict and humanitarian collapse to an interim phase led by the International Stabilization Force (ISF) and the Board of Peace, a multiparty supervisory body. The text notes that this phase is a transitional, organizational channel for reconstruction and the provision of basic services. The board and ISF would guarantee the flow of humanitarian assistance, manage border crossings, and implement security measures to prevent a relapse into violence.
The danger, however, lies in the possibility that this interim stage could easily evolve into a long-term trusteeship. To avoid this fate, the phase’s mechanisms and components must be designed in a manner that ensures meaningful Palestinian participation in day-to-day governance. It should set clear timeframes for every transitional step—including Israeli military withdrawal without partitioning the Gaza Strip and addressing the weapons of Hamas and other factions. And it must ensure that any necessary extension is not solely an Israeli request or a U.S. decision, but also receives Palestinian and regional consent.
This is where Egypt’s role becomes critical.
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