17 November 2025

 

Source: United States Mission to the United Nations

Ambassador Mike Waltz
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York

As delivered

Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us for what is truly a historic moment at the United Nations.

Today marks a turning point—not just for Gaza, not just for the Middle East, but for what international cooperation under President Trump’s leadership can achieve when we choose diplomacy over destruction, when we choose stability over suffering, and peace over perpetual conflict.

Today, the United Nations proved it can be great again.

The United Nations today proved it can be a beacon for peace, not just a bystander.

The United Nations Security Council has just adopted the United States sponsored resolution on Gaza that does something we haven’t seen in generations: it provides a real, actionable pathway to lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

And I would encourage everyone around the world, and I would certainly encourage the media to read the entire resolution. Read the whole thing. It is truly a victory for everyone who believes in a future where the Palestinian people can determine their own destiny, and where they can have a future free of the grip of Hamas terrorists.

This is what the United Nations was created to do: to make pathways for real, tangible, and actionable peace.

So, let me be clear: this resolution, and the progress it represents, would not have been possible without President Trump’s bold leadership and his vision. Folks, just weeks ago, literally just weeks ago, the Middle East was mired in conflict. Hostages remained in tunnels, in captivity. Palestinians in Gaza suffered in a hell on earth as the war raged on.

Then President Trump secured a historic peace deal—with the critical support of Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye. Hostages came home to their families, and we are still working to bring home the remaining three hostages who remain in Gaza. But we’ve also seen massive humanitarian aid began flowing into Gaza, an average of 660 trucks per day since the ceasefire. So, we saw the region in chaos just weeks ago. It took its first real step towards peace.

And today, the United Nations solidified that into international law. Today, the Security Council built on that foundation.

And I want to thank our partners and allies on the Council for their support, who stood with us in this moment. But particularly the support from our regional partners. From our Arab partners and the Muslim majority countries. It has been absolutely indispensable. I can’t overemphasize it.

The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye stood together in support of this resolution and President Trump’s plan. Then you have the endorsement from the gathering at Sharm el-Sheikh, where over 20 countries, over a dozen from Europe, including the European Union, supported this comprehensive approach, and demonstrated that the region is ready for change.

Folks, the region is tired of the same old talking points, the same old solutions that have never worked. The region is ready to break the cycle of violence. And what we saw here is once the Arabs, Muslim majority nations, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel indicated that we could move forward, with the plan laid forth in this resolution, we then turned to the Council and said: How could you stand against it?

So, what does the resolution actually do? I just want to take a moment to lay out a couple of key points:

First, the Security Council has endorsed President Trump’s historic 20-Point Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict;

It welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace as a transitional administration for Gaza that will oversee and support a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for day-to-day government services;

It underscores the critical importance of humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza;

And it authorizes an International Stabilization Force to stabilize the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure. It also ensures the decommissioning from Hamas and its partners.

All of this will allow for a Gaza Strip that is finally free of Hamas’ terror and reign.

This resolution represents the first real step in generations towards forging a lasting peace for Gaza, for Palestinians, for Israelis, and for the entire region. And I want to be clear, the United States made it clear, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, my good friend Jared Kushner, Special Envoy Witkoff, we all made it clear that a vote against this resolution was a vote to return to war.

So, thanks to our actions here today, and President Trump’s bold, cleareyed leadership, a stable, a safe, and a prosperous future in the Middle East is now finally within reach.

Thank you.

 

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Document Type: Press Conference, Remarks
Document Sources: Security Council
Country: United States of America
Subject: Ceasefire, Gaza Strip, Hostages, Peace proposals and efforts, Terrorism
Publication Date: 17/11/2025
URL source: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1x/k1x2ir1lb1