Middle East: UN Security Council approves Trump's Gaza plan

One man was killed and three others were injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack at a traffic junction in the Israel-occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities said.

The attack occurred between the city of Bethlehem, which lies just south of Jerusalem, and the city of Hebron in the south of the occupied Palestinian territory.

The junction lies at the entrance to the Gush Etzion bloc of Israeli settlements.

The Israeli ambulance service said a 30-year-old man died of a stab wound.

Of the wounded, one woman was in serious condition, while a man and a boy sustained moderate injuries.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the the car ramming and stabbing.

The Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said in a statement that two attackers were killed by soldiers. It added that its forces were conducting searches and setting up roadblocks in the area.

The Palestinian Islamist militant group "Islamic Jihad" hailed the attack, saying that it was in response to what it described as the "relentless crimes of… settler gangs and the occupation army."

"Islamic Jihad" is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel and the EU.

At least 1,006 West Bank Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by the Israeli military or settlers since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is headed to the US for talks with President Donald Trump. It's his first visit to Washington since relations soured over the killing of regime critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

DW spoke with Cinzia Bianco, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on the Gulf States, about the visit and the planned sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to the Saudis.

"The Saudis have been watching very closely what Israel has been doing over the past few months and in particular the 12-day war against Iran. And they have concluded that one reason why Israel was relatively successful in that war was that they were able to take out Iran's air defenses very quickly," Bianco explained.

"And a big part of that was using F-35's jets because of their stealth capacity."

From the US side, she said that the Trump administration is looking to draw down some of its overseas commitments.   

"Trump is, you know, going ahead with the idea of the US relinquishing some of its responsibilities for security in the region and geopolitical work in the region to its allies and its partners," Bianco said.

Regarding Saudi Arabia's increasing ties to China, which predecessor Joe Biden had tried to crack down on, Bianco said Trump is putting even more pressure on Riyadh.

"Trump has been even more forceful to the Saudis to say that he doesn't want to see them getting closer to China in very sensitive areas than for example, on technology," she said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed its gratitude to US President Donald Trump for his peace plan that was approved by the UN Security Council.

"The State of Israel and PM Netanyahu applaud President Trump and his tireless and devoted team," the office wrote on X.

"We believe that President Trump‘s plan will lead to peace and prosperity because it insists upon full demilitarization, disarmament and the deradicalization of Gaza," it added.

Netanyahu's office also called on Israel's neighbors to return to the Abraham Accords — an attempt launched during Trump's first term to get Arab countries in the region to normalize relations with Israel.

"Israel extends its hand in peace and prosperity to all of our neighbors and calls on them to normalize relations with Israel and join us in expelling Hamas and its supporters from the region."

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has welcomed the passing of Trump's Gaza peace plan by the UN Security Council.

He said the plan to end the war in Gaza was "good news."

The minister was speaking after meeting with his Serbian counterpart in Belgrade during a trip to the Balkans.

He added that Germany was ready to "play a constructive role in [the] reconstruction of Gaza."

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has welcomed the UN Security Council resolution backing Trump's Gaza peace plan.

The PA governs in the occupied West Bank and is a rival of Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.

It said that the plan was necessary to protect Palestinians and to uphold the two-state solution, according to a statement reported by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The authority also said it was willing to work with the US, EU, Muslim-majority countries and members of the UN Security Council to implement the resolution.

Hamas has rejected the disarmament as laid out in the peace plan.

Israel also rejects the two-state solution, which is supported by most of the international community.

US President Donald Trump has welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to adopt a resolution backing his peace plan for Gaza.

"Congratulations to the world on the incredible vote of the United Nations Security Council, just moments ago, acknowledging and endorsing the BOARD OF PEACE, which will be chaired by me, and include the most powerful and respected leaders throughout the world," Trump posted on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

He added that the resolution "will lead to further peace all over the world."

Trump also thanked the United Nations and all of the UN Security Council members, including China and Russia, which both abstained for the vote.

The US president also said there would be "many more exciting announcements in the coming weeks."

Palestinian militant group Hamas, considered a terror organization by the US and EU, amongst others, has rejected the United Nations Security Council passing a Washington-drafted resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan.

Hamas said the proposal fails to meet Palestinians' rights and demands, adding that the plan seeks to impose an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip.

"Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation," Hamas said in a statement.

The US Ambassador to the UN said the resolution starts a new course in the Middle East.

"Today's resolution represents another significant step towards a stable Gaza that will be able to prosper and an environment that will allow Israel to live in security," Mike Waltz said.

The US, along with the EU, Germany and other governments, classifies Hamas as a terror group.

The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution backing US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.

Thirteen members voted in favor of Washington's proposal, which also provides for an international force to help stabilize the ceasefire. Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China.

The Group of Seven (G7) leading democracies had recently pushed for a Security Council mandate to implement the plan.

The plan calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international stabilization force and the establishment of a transitional committee of Palestinian technocrats.

This transitional committee would be overseen by an international body known as the Board of Peace, which Trump says he intends to chair.

Several issues remain disputed, including the disarmament of Hamas and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. 

Israel had criticized the resolution's reference to "a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."

A fragile ceasefire continues to hold between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The Trump administration's blueprint to secure and govern Gaza has earned approval at the United Nations Security Council.

Shortly after the UN green light, Hamas rejected the passing of the US-drafted resolution endorsing Trump's Gaza plan, saying it fails to meet the rights of Palestinians.

Follow here for all of the latest developments in the conflict in the Middle East.