The U.N. Security Council on Monday approved a that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in the devastated territory and to an independent Palestinian state.

Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote. The U.S. and other countries had hoped Moscow would not use its veto power on the United Nations’ most powerful body to block the resolution’s adoption.

The vote was a crucial next step for and efforts to outline Gaza’s future following two years of . Arab and other Muslim countries that expressed interest in providing troops for an international force had signaled that Security Council authorization was .

The U.S. resolution endorses President Donald Trump’s , which calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of

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