UN Security Council Denies Palestinian Freedom by Endorsing Trump’s Gaza Plan | Palestine Policy Roundup 11.25.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Maxine Dexter, on joining the resolution to recognize Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza: “Many in this body have been reticent to clearly call out the mass suffering, the ethnic cleansing, the war crimes taking place in Gaza. I will not willingly continue to be part of that complicity…my job is to stand up against the power and our resources of this country being used in such ways.”
Rep. Jim McGovern: “For 9 months, Mohammed [Ibrahim] has suffered illness, malnourishment & potentially torture—and his family is increasingly worried he may not survive. Israel must uphold its obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the Child and immediately move Mohammed to an appropriate medical facility, allow his family to visit, and let him come home!”
Rep. Summer Lee on the resolution to recognize Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza: “Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and it is time for the United States to officially recognize that and put an end to it. Co-sponsoring this resolution is the bare minimum.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza goes on, extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank are attacking Palestinians with impunity, displacing them & disrupting the olive harvest. We must end our complicity. Opposing annexation isn't enough, we must demand an end to the occupation.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez: “Netanyahu and Trump can't be trusted. Throughout this so-called ‘ceasefire,’ Netanyahu has continued to bomb Gaza and is still restricting the flow of humanitarian aid. Congress must pass my Block the Bombs Act to stop the transfer of weapons, assert Congressional oversight, save lives, and hold Netanyahu accountable.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
🌐 UN SECURITY COUNCIL ENDORSES PRESIDENT TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN AS ISRAEL PREPS FOR INDEFINITE OCCUPATION
Last Monday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that endorses President Trump’s plan for Gaza–effectively providing a stamp of approval for the plan’s denial of Palestinian self-determination.
The revisions to the leaked first draft of the resolution failed to address many key concerns about Israel’s occupation and Palestinian self-determination. One revision is the inclusion of a vague and noncommittal reference to a possible path to Palestinian statehood that is contingent on Palestinians ending any efforts at seeking accountability for Israel’s crimes, a nonstarter which leaves the door open for Israel’s continued subjugation of Palestinians.
The approved version of the resolution still endorses the corporate-style board which will be headed by President Trump and will reportedly include human rights violators, such as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, cheerleader for the illegal US war against Iraq in 2003. This unelected, unaccountable board will control the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including by potentially denying UNRWA access to deliver aid, and control Gaza’s reconstruction for the potential economic benefit of foreign investors rather than indigenous Palestinians.
The approved resolution also reaffirms the board’s control over the multinational force set to deploy to Gaza without clear guidelines on its role there or any guarantee that it would work to protect Palestinians from further Israeli genocidal violence. Crucially, it does not provide any timeline for the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza, setting up the potential for an indefinite military occupation inside Gaza and a partition along the current Israeli redeployment line, leaving the majority of Gaza in Israeli hands.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials are making clear their opposition to President Trump’s Gaza plan, despite it offering no clear pathway to Palestinian self-determination. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for potential war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel’s genocidal violence in Gaza, vowed to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state during a cabinet meeting before the UNSC vote. Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir also called for the assassination of Palestinian Authority officials and the arrest of PA President Mahmoud Abbas if the UN recognized a Palestinian state.
In Gaza, the Israeli military is moving yellow signs, which are meant to demarcate the Israeli redeployment line, further westward in violation of the ceasefire agreement and President Trump’s plan. The Israeli military reportedly moved the signs deeper into areas near Gaza City and attacked the area as its tanks advanced there in a move to control additional territory than stipulated by the first redeployment line of Trump’s plan.
Palestinians who live in these areas were suddenly thrust into the middle of the Israeli military’s combat area, in which Palestinians have been indiscriminately killed by Israeli soldiers throughout the genocide.
📖 LEARN MORE about the next phase of President Trump’s Gaza plan and concerns about the partition of Gaza in IMEU Policy Project’s policy memo.
IN THE NEWS
🚫 US MUST RESPECT ITS LAWS, INTERNATIONAL LAW AND NOT SEND MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL
IMEU Policy Project has published its latest policy memo on the need for Members of Congress to speak out against another Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel that would send at least $76 billion in taxpayer-funded weapons there over the span of two decades.
The US already provides nearly $4 billion in weapons to Israel every year under the current MOU, which was agreed to in 2016 and lasts through FY2028. Negotiations for the next MOU also come after the US delivered to Israel more than $30 billion in weapons presumably funded by taxpayers to fuel its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
75% of Democratic voters support ending this agreement according to a poll published by IMEU Policy Project. Members of Congress must heed the call of their voters and speak out against this agreement, which would violate both US laws on weapons transfers and US obligations as a signatory to the Genocide Convention to prevent and punish genocide.
⚡ IMEU POLICY PROJECT PUBLISHES POLICY PAPER ON US-PALESTINIAN RELATIONS
IMEU Policy Project’s latest policy paper calls on the US to reestablish independent diplomatic relations with Palestinians and lays out recommendations to redefine the U.S.-Palestinian relationship. Instead of serving Israeli goals, the paper encourages the US to pursue an independent policy that promotes Palestinian rights. This paper was written by Mike Casey, who served as a Foreign Service Officer in the Office of Palestinian Affairs in the US Embassy to Israel before he resigned in protest over the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Casey provides an eye-opening, inside account of the dysfunctionality of US-Palestinian relations under the Biden administration–even prior to October 2023–as US diplomats and visiting Congressional delegations were oftentimes prevented from engaging with Palestinian human rights groups and Palestinian civil society due to Israeli sensitivities.
The paper comes after several actions by the Trump administration that have exacerbated this dysfunctionality, including the shutting down of the Office of Palestinian Affairs and putting US-Palestinian relations under the control of anti-Palestinian US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. This decision helped to reinforce Israel’s denial of Palestinian self-determination by subsuming the US-Palestinian diplomatic relationship as a component of US-Israeli diplomacy.
🚨 TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT TARGETS ADVOCACY IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS
In an escalation of the extremist MAGA agenda cracking down on support for Palestinian rights, Texas Governor Greg Abbott targeted the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) because it supports Palestinian rights. This attack will prevent CAIR from acquiring property in Texas and empower far-right state Attorney General Ken Paxton to take legal action to shut down the group and affiliated entities in the state.
Governor Abbott has since directed the state police to investigate CAIR and to disrupt the group’s activities. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process rights, echoing the threat posed by the Nonprofit Killer Bill that was rejected by Congress last year.
While Abbott’s designation does not have legal authority outside of Texas, this move is one of the latest and most explicit threats to the right to speak and act in support of Palestinian rights and sets the stage for a further crackdown. This action is straight out of the playbook of Project Esther, a Heritage Foundation document which is a corollary to Project 2025 and outlines how to dismantle advocacy in support of Palestinian rights.
This designation also comes as the Trump administration threatens to crack down on all speech and action that opposes its extremist MAGA agenda through the targeting of domestic groups via an executive order and an accompanying presidential memo directing federal law enforcement agencies to investigate non-profit groups.
These attacks will not stop at Texas or stop with CAIR. Members of Congress must speak out against this blatant attack on democratic rights and stand up for the freedom to speak out and act in support of Palestinian rights.
🏠 REPORT: ISRAEL’S FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF PALESTINIANS FROM WEST BANK REFUGEE CAMPS AMOUNTS TO WAR CRIMES, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
A report by Human Rights Watch found that Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The organization called for the investigation and prosecution of several Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for their role in the displacement and for targeted sanctions to press Israeli officials to end these policies.
The report examines Israel’s invasion of the northern West Bank that began in January 2025, which was launched days after a ceasefire agreement in Gaza was announced. The invasion was repeatedly described by Israeli officials as applying Israel’s genocidal playbook from Gaza to the West Bank. 32,000 Palestinians were displaced from these three refugee camps out of a total of more than 40,000 Palestinians who were displaced from their homes during the invasion, making it the largest forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967, when Israel’s occupation of the West Bank began.
Interviews with displaced Palestinians cited in the report also reveal the Israeli military’s use of bulldozers, including the US-supplied Caterpillar D9, in the commission of these crimes. Across all camps, bulldozers were extensively used to destroy homes and tear up roads even as Palestinians were attempting to flee the Israeli military’s assault.
In February, the Trump administration formally notified Congress of its intent to circumvent Congressional oversight and expedite the delivery of nearly $4 billion in presumably taxpayer- funded weapons to Israel, including Caterpillar D9 bulldozers.The use of US-supplied D9 bulldozers in the forced displacement of Palestinians is a violation of the Arms Export Control Act, which governs weapons transfers and compels an immediate halt to the delivery of these weapons to Israel.
The report found that at least 1,500 homes and other buildings were destroyed or damaged by the Israeli military during and after its assault. Similar to Israel’s campaign of forced displacement in Gaza, Palestinians who were displaced from their homes in the camps have not been allowed to return or collect their belongings, and those who have attempted to do so have been shot at by Israeli soldiers.
Also like in Gaza, the Israeli military continued to destroy homes and infrastructure through deliberate demolitions that used bulldozers and other heavy machinery and uncontrolled detonations. The Israeli military has used similar methods to destroy buildings in Gaza both before and during the current ceasefire agreement, including detonating explosive-laden armored vehicles in Gaza City.
In addition to the investigation, prosecution, and imposition of sanctions on Israeli officials, Human Rights Watch recommends that governments pressure Israel to end its forced displacement of Palestinians by ending weapons transfers, suspending trade agreements, banning trade with its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, and enforcing ICC arrest warrants.
Members of Congress must exercise their oversight authority over weapons transfers, especially in light of the use of US-provided Caterpillar D9 bulldozers in violation of US and international law. Congress must immediately end all weapons transfers to Israel to bring the US into compliance with its laws.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
⚠️ ISRAEL KILLS DOZENS OF PALESTINIANS IN STRIKES ACROSS GAZA IN VIOLATION OF CEASEFIRE
Israel killed more than 50 Palestinians over the last week in airstrikes across Gaza in violation of the ceasefire agreement. As Israel continues to violate the ceasefire both by killing Palestinians and restricting the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the US has an obligation to prevent further genocidal acts by Israel.
Last Wednesday, Israel killed more than 30 Palestinians in airstrikes on Khan Younis and Gaza City that targeted places where displaced Palestinians were sheltering. Near Khan Younis, the Israeli military reportedly targeted a tent encampment, while its strike in Gaza City targeted an already damaged building. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain displaced as a result of Israel’s flattening of homes and infrastructure in Gaza and its control of more than half of Gaza laying behind the Israeli redeployment line.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Survivors of Israel’s Wednesday strikes told The Guardian their thoughts on Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire. Lina Kurnaz said that “My daughter kept asking me all night, ‘Will the war come back?’ Every time we try to regain hope, the shelling starts again. When will this nightmare end?” Mohammed Hamdouna, a displaced Palestinian living in Al Mawasi, said: “The intensity of the death toll has decreased, but martyrs and shelling happen every day. We are still living in tents. The cities are rubble; the crossings are still closed, and all the basic necessities of life are still lacking.”
Israel continued its violations of the ceasefire with more strikes on Palestinians across Gaza over the weekend, killing another 24 Palestinians. These strikes reportedly focused on Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and the Nuseirat refugee camp. The attacks in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat reportedly targeted residential buildings.
These strikes were some of the deadliest since Israel killed more than 100 Palestinians in violation of the ceasefire agreement overnight on October 28. Israel has killed nearly 350 Palestinians since the ceasefire went into effect in early October. These fatalities not only include Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes but also Palestinians shot by Israeli soldiers as they attempted to return to their homes near the Israeli redeployment line.
Once again, these strikes make clear the continued importance of ending weapons transfers to Israel. The Trump administration is clearly allowing Israel to violate the ceasefire and continue killing Palestinians with impunity, and President Trump’s Gaza plan has several loopholes that allow for Israel to continue its genocidal violence. Representatives can send a strong message in support of complying with US and international law now by cosponsoring the Block the Bombs Act.
📖 LEARN MORE Check out IMEU Policy Project’s policy memo on the need for the Block the Bombs Act.
📣 TAKE ACTION: Write to your Representative and urge them to sign on to the Block the Bombs Act, or thank them for signing on!
⛓️ US OFFICIAL REPORTS THAT MOHAMMED IBRAHIM BEATEN BY ISRAELI GUARDS, CONDITION IS WORSENING
A US official visited Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American US citizen detained by Israel, for the first time since September, and reported that his condition is continuing to deteriorate in Israeli detention. According to the official, Mohammed has lost more weight, a result of the meager portions of food that he and other Palestinians are given in Israeli detention, and that he has dark circles under his eyes. Prior to this visit, Mohammed had already lost 30 pounds since he was abducted from his family’s home in the West Bank in February.
The official also reported that Israeli prison guards beat him when he tried to wave to his father on a courtroom security camera during his last appearance before an Israeli military court. During that appearance, Mohammed’s detention was once again extended until at least December with no end in sight.
This dire report makes it even more important for Members of Congress to demand the Trump administration pressure Israel to release Mohammed. Israel’s systemic abuse, torture, medical neglect, and starvation has already killed nearly 100 Palestinians in Israeli detention over the course of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Photo: lev radin via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 2427995537