By EDITH M. LEDERER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNITED NATIONS-The U.N. Security Council on Monday approved a U.S. plan for Gaza that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in the devastated territory and envisions a possible future path 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 the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza's future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Arab and other Muslim countries that expressed interest in providing troops for an international force had signaled that Security Council authorization was essential for their participation.

The U.S. resolution endorses President Donald Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan, which calls for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head. It also authorizes the stabilization force and gives it a wide mandate, including overseeing the borders, providing security and demilitarizing the territory. Authorization for the board and force expire at the end of 2027.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz called the resolution "historic and constructive," saying it 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," he said. He stressed that the resolution "is just the beginning."

During nearly two weeks of negotiations on the U.S. resolution, Arab nations and the Palestinians had pressed the United States to strengthen the original weak language about Palestinian self- determination.

The U.S. revised it to say that after the Palestinian Authority -which now governs parts of the West Bank - makes reforms and after redevelopment of the devastated Gaza Strip advances, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."

"The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence," it adds.

That language angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had vowed to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state. He has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas- run state on Israel's borders.

A key to the resolution's adoption was support from Arab and Muslim nations pushing for a ceasefire and potentially contributing to the international force.

The U.S. mission to the United Nations distributed a joint statement Friday with Qatar, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey calling for "swift adoption" of the U.S. proposal.