UN Security Council set to vote on international force for Gaza
The UN Security Council is set to vote Monday on a US-drafted resolution bolstering Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, especially the deployment of an international force, as Washington warns that a failure to act could lead to renewed fighting.The draft, which has been revised several times as a result of high-stakes negotiations, “endorses” the plan, which allowed for a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to take hold on October 10 in the war-wracked Palestinian territory.The Gaza Strip has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of fighting, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.The latest version of the text, seen by AFP, authorizes the creation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.The ISF also would work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups,” protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.In addition, it would authorize the formation of a “Board of Peace,” a transitional governing body for Gaza — which Trump would theoretically chair — with a mandate running until the end of 2027.Unlike previous drafts, the latest version mentions a possible future Palestinian state.Once the Palestinian Authority has carried out requested reforms and the rebuilding of Gaza is underway, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” the draft says.That eventuality has been firmly rejected by Israel.”Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.The UN Security Council vote is set for 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Monday.- Russian objections -Veto-wielding Russia has circulated a competing draft, saying the US document does not go far enough towards backing the creation of a Palestinian state.Moscow’s text, seen by AFP, asks the Council to express its “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution.”It does not authorize a Board of Peace or the deployment of an international force for the time being, instead asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to offer “options” on those issues.The United States has intensified its campaign to earn support for its resolution, hitting out at “attempts to sow discord” among Council members.”Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,” the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, wrote in The Washington Post.The US has made known that it has the backing of several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, publishing a joint statement of support for the text signed by Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey.Several diplomats told AFP that despite Russian criticism and hesitance on the part of other member states, they expect the US draft to be adopted.”The Russians know that while a lot of Council members will go along with the US plans, they share concerns about the substance of the US text and the way Washington has tried to fast-track it through New York,” Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP. He however said he doubts that Moscow will use its veto on a resolution backed by Arab nations.”I think it is more likely that China and Russia will abstain, register their skepticism about the plan and then sit back and watch the US struggle to put it into action,” Gowan said.
Japan-China spat sinks tourism stocks
Japanese tourism and retail shares fell sharply on Monday after China warned its citizens to avoid travelling to the East Asian country in a spat over comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan.China and Japan’s long-testy ties have spiralled further this month after Takaichi suggested that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any emergency in the self-ruled island.Asia’s two biggest economies are closely entwined, with China the biggest source of tourists to Japan, with almost 7.5 million in the first nine months of 2025, according to the Japan national tourism bureau.In the third quarter, they spent 590 billion yen ($3.8 billion), accounting for about 28 percent of all spending by international tourists, transport ministry data shows.Shares in cosmetics form Shiseido dived almost nine percent, department store group Takashimaya by over six percent, and Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing by close to six percent on Monday. Japan Airlines fell 3.9 percent. – Hawk -Before taking power last month, Takaichi, an acolyte of ex-premier Shinzo Abe, was a vocal critic of China and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.Her comments on November 7 were widely interpreted as implying that an attack on Taiwan, which is just some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the nearest Japanese island, could warrant Tokyo’s military support.If a Taiwan emergency entails “battleships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival (of Japan), any way you slice it,” Takaichi, 64, told parliament.Japan’s self-imposed rules say that it can only act militarily under certain conditions, including an existential threat.The comments came just days after Takaichi met Chinese President Xi Jinping for an apparently cordial first meeting on the sidelines of an APEC summit in South Korea.Takaichi, who has visited Taiwan in the past and called for closer cooperation, also met separately with Taipei’s representative at the summit.China and Japan last week summoned each other’s ambassadors, with Beijing then advising its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan.In a now-removed post on X, the Chinese consul general in Osaka Xue Jian threatened to “cut off that dirty neck”, apparently referring to Takaichi.Beijing insists Taiwan, which Japan occupied for decades until 1945, is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to seize control.Japanese media reports said that the top official in the foreign ministry for Asia-Pacific affairs headed to China on Monday.Masaaki Kanai, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the ministry, was due to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu Jinsong, the reports said.Kanai was expected to reiterate Japan’s position that Takaichi’s remarks do not change Japan’s traditional position and also lodge a protest over the Chinese diplomat’s social media posts, they added.- Economic hit -The diplomatic spat was further bad news for Japan’s economy, which shrank by 0.4 percent in the third quarter, official data showed on Monday.Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics warned that current tensions with China risked escalating “into a full-blown trade spat” similar to a previous spat in the early 2010s.”There are several avenues through which this could play out, but the biggest risk is that China restricts exports of rare earths or imposes restrictions on Japanese exports,” Thieliant said before the GDP release.”Carmakers look particularly vulnerable as they are already under enormous pressure from the ascent of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers,” he added.
Trump ne ferme pas la porte à des “discussions” avec Maduro
Le président américain Donald Trump a évoqué dimanche de possibles “discussions” avec son homologue vénézuélien Nicolas Maduro, dans un contexte de fortes tensions entre leurs pays.Le contexte régional s’est considérablement dégradé depuis le déploiement américain d’ampleur au large de l’Amérique latine, officiellement pour y mener une campagne militaire contre le trafic de drogue à destination des Etats-Unis.”Nous pourrions avoir des discussions avec Maduro, et nous verrons comment cela se passe”, a néanmoins déclaré Donald Trump à la presse, à l’aéroport international de Palm Beach, en Floride.”Ils aimeraient discuter”, a ajouté le républicain, alors que la justice américaine offre une récompense de 50 millions de dollars pour la capture du dirigeant vénézuélien.Washington accuse ce dernier d’être à la tête du “Cartel des Soleils”, organisation dont des experts doutent de l’existence sous cette forme, décrivant plutôt un système de corruption profitant du crime organisé.Le secrétaire d’Etat Marco Rubio a toutefois annoncé dimanche que le “Cartel de los Soles” (le nom espagnol de ce réseau présumé) serait classé groupe terroriste étranger par les autorités américaines, le tenant responsable de “violences terroristes dans notre hémisphère et de trafic de drogue vers les Etats-Unis et l’Europe”.Le responsable a réitéré une affirmation américaine selon laquelle ce cartel serait dirigé par Nicolas Maduro et d’autres hauts fonctionnaires “qui ont corrompu l’armée, les services de renseignement, le pouvoir législatif et le pouvoir judiciaire du Venezuela”.- Arrivée d’un porte-avions -Les forces de Washington mobilisées en mer des Caraïbes et dans le Pacifique mènent depuis septembre des frappes aériennes dans les eaux internationales, détruisant une vingtaine de navires présentés comme appartenant à des trafiquants de drogue, sans apporter de preuve. Au moins 83 personnes ont été tuées dans ces opérations qui ont fait grimper les tensions régionales, surtout avec le Venezuela.M. Rubio a affirmé que les Etats-Unis “continueront à utiliser tous les outils disponibles pour protéger leurs intérêts en matière de sécurité nationale et priver les narco-terroristes de financements et de ressources”, estimant que “ni Maduro ni ses acolytes ne représentent le gouvernement légitime du Venezuela”.Donald Trump, qui a autorisé des opérations clandestines de la CIA au Venezuela, a donné des indications contradictoires sur sa stratégie, évoquant par moments des frappes sur le sol vénézuélien et des jours comptés pour Nicolas Maduro à la présidence, mais écartant aussi l’idée d’une guerre.De son côté, Caracas accuse Washington de prendre prétexte de la lutte contre le narcotrafic pour “imposer un changement de régime” et tenter de s’emparer du pétrole vénézuélien.Dimanche, les Etats-Unis ont annoncé l’arrivée en mer des Caraïbes de leur porte-avions Gerald Ford, le plus grand du monde, renforçant nettement leur présence dans la zone. Le Gerald Ford transporte notamment quatre escadrilles d’avions de combat et est accompagné de trois destroyers lance-missiles.