By LEE KEATH, Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has backed the United States’ ambitious plan for the future of the Gaza Strip. How and when it will be carried out remain largely unknown.

In a twist unimaginable across the tumultuous history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the plan would mean President Donald Trump becomes the de facto ruler of Gaza. The territory remains devastated by Israel’s campaign to eliminate Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

An international body known as the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, is to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate. An armed International Stabilization Force is to keep security and ensure the disarming of Hamas, a key demand of Israel.

Major questions hang over nearly every part of the plan and the timeframe for implementation. In the meantime, nearly all Palestinians remain displaced and dependent on humanitarian aid, Hamas retains significant control over nearly half of Gaza and the rebuilding of the territory has barely begun.

President Donald Trump waits to welcome Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Challenges at every step

Some talks over the next steps have taken place behind the scenes among the U.S., Israel, Qatar, Egypt and other countries. But serious negotiations have not begun because Israel and Hamas remain in the first phase of the ceasefire deal that came into effect in October. Hamas is still required to hand over the bodies of the last three hostages.

The U.N. resolution passed Monday gave the plan international legitimacy. That opens the door for Arab and Muslim-majority nations to participate, particularly by contributing troops to the ISF. The U.S. is hoping that the more those countries are involved, the more palatable the international rule will be for Gaza’s more than 2 million people.

But the Palestinian public’s acceptance is far from certain. Without it, the Board of Peace risks becoming seen as a foreign occupation working on behalf of Israel, further thwarting their dream of self-determination and statehood.

The plan gives Palestinians almost no voice in governing Gaza. Because of Israel’s fierce opposition, it doesn’t promise statehood, offering only a vague reference that it might one day be possible. It also gives only an ambiguous timetable for reconstruction to begin and for the Israeli military to withdraw from the around 50% of the Gaza Strip that it still holds since the ceasefire began.

Israeli tanks are parked in a staging area near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Will disarmament happen?

Disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza are the keystones to the whole plan. But there’s no detail on how that will happen.

So far, Hamas has not agreed to disarm. In a statement after the U.N. resolution’s passage, Hamas said the fate of its weapons is connected to ensuring a path to the end of the Israeli occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state.

The International Stabilization Force is tasked with ensuring disarmament and the destruction of Hamas’ military infrastructure. The ISF will also oversee a Palestinian police force, made up of vetted members trained by Egypt and Jordan.

A number of nations have been cited as possible contributors to the ISF, including Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. But none has committed to sending troops yet, and Israel opposes Turkey participating in the force.

They are unlikely to want their soldiers to take Hamas’ weapons by force. Hamas warned that trying to do so would turn the ISF “into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation.”

Hamas is under heavy pressure, particularly from Qatar and Egypt, to find a compromise. One possible idea is a “decommissioning” – handing the arsenal over to the ISF for safekeeping — which Hamas could argue is not a permanent surrender of its right to armed resistance.

Without disarmament, much of the rest of the plan could stall. Israel’s troop withdrawal is linked to the pace of Hamas demilitarization and the deployment of the ISF. Reconstruction is also unlikely to happen in most of Gaza unless Hamas disarms.

Many Palestinians fear the end result will be a partition of Gaza between an Israeli-controlled zone, where some reconstruction might take place, and the rest, where almost all of the population of more than 2 million live with little rebuilding.

Palestinian children look at the camera as they play in a makeshift camp for displaced people in Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Who will make up the Board of Peace?

Trump has said the board will be made up of “distinguished leaders” from other countries, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and that its members will be named in the coming weeks.

But who they will be is unknown, and even Blair’s participation has not been confirmed.

The U.N. resolution gives the Board complete say in Gaza with powers over the ISF, reconstruction and economic recovery. The Board is also to oversee a “technocratic, apolitical committee of competent Palestinians” who will run the day-to-day civil service in Gaza.

FILE – A general view shows a Security Council meeting at the U.N. headquarters, Sept. 23, 2025, at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

Who are these independent Palestinians?

The members of the Palestinian committee are to have no connection to either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, which currently administers scattered parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel has rejected any role for the PA in Gaza.

The plan doesn’t specify who will select the members, but that likely will fall to the Board of Peace. Israel will want to have a strong say in who can be included.

In an online post, Palestinian political analyst and pollster Khalil Shikaki said the committee should be picked through “an all Palestinian” process to boost its support, consulting among political factions, trade syndicates, local leaders and women’s and youth organizations.

But if the Board and the committee are seen as a tool for the U.S. or Israel, prominent Palestinians may be reluctant to join. In its statement Monday, Hamas denounced the “international guardianship” that the U.N. resolution places on Gaza, saying it aims to further Israel’s interests.

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What is all this leading to?

The plan emphasizes two goals for Gaza – demilitarization and reconstruction. Anything beyond that remains largely blank.

The U.N. resolution offers the possibility of the Palestinian Authority eventually taking control of Gaza if it carries out a slate of internal reforms to the satisfaction of the Board of Peace – everything from fighting corruption, increasing efficiency to holding elections.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the U.N. resolution in a statement Monday and said it was prepared to step in to govern Gaza. But Israeli opposition raises doubts whether that will ever be allowed to happen.

Under pressure from Arab allies, the United States inserted a reference to Palestinian statehood in the U.N. resolution.

But it remains only a vague nod. It states that if the Palestinian Authority “faithfully” carries out reforms and if Gaza redevelopment advances, “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

The lack of a clear path to self-determination threatens to complicate every other step. For example, Shikaki wrote, without a path to statehood, “disarmament will be seen as capitulation; with it, demobilization can be framed as part of national strategy.”

For much of the population, the priority is to see reconstruction and a revival of Gaza’s economy so families have livelihoods. If that comes, it could paper over reluctance toward international rule, at least for a time. If it doesn’t or if Palestinians see no progress toward self-determination, resentment is likely to mount.

The potential for chaos is high with the multiple divisions within Gaza. Already, the territory has Hamas, several Israeli-backed armed gangs that oppose the group and the Israeli military itself. Add to those a Palestinian police force, international troops, Palestinians who join the administration and those who oppose it – and the scene becomes even more volatile.

“I learned the hard way that affordable housing isn’t guaranteed—it’s conditional. The moment your income changes or an agency misses a form, the system recalculates your worth and can pull the rug out from under you.”

An apartment building in The Bronx. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

When I received a housing voucher, I was finally able to move into a rent-stabilized apartment in what many would call a “luxury” building. I was told that if I maintained the apartment for five years, my rent would be locked in. But when COVID-19 hit, my case management through Homebase fell apart, and I had to pay the rent from my Social Security Disability income just to stay housed. 

I learned the hard way that affordable housing isn’t guaranteed—it’s conditional. The moment your income changes or an agency misses a form, the system recalculates your worth and can pull the rug out from under you. The recertification process has become a quiet form of income discrimination, punishing stability instead of supporting it. These systems are set up for people to stay stuck or fail. They claim to promote independence, but the fine print ensures dependence.

Seniors and families with children are the most vulnerable. Toby, 10, cried when his mother told him they had to go to a shelter. He lost his school, his friends, and his sense of home. Nearly a year later, he laughed again when his mom was finally awarded a housing voucher. For the first time, he felt safe.

 But today, at 16, Toby is back on unstable ground—his family must leave the apartment they fought so hard to keep. The fear and displacement he experienced as a child have returned, and this time, the pain runs deeper. Children internalize trauma quickly, and Toby’s story is not unique. When families are forced to move again and again, we are watching the slow unraveling of a generation.

And then there are our seniors—the silent backbone of our communities—being told to work longer, to survive on less, and to somehow “adjust” as costs climb and health declines. Many of us have already raised families, buried loved ones, and outlived friends. We are tired, yet the system demands endurance instead of compassion. Seniors shouldn’t have to prove their productivity to deserve peace. Stability and dignity in housing should be a right, not a reward for those who can still punch a clock.

If we are serious about ending homelessness, we must reform the voucher recertification process so that progress isn’t penalized and stability isn’t temporary. Families who rise should not be punished for surviving, and elders who have given their best years should not be left to struggle alone. 

City and state agencies must also invest in clear education for tenants with subsidies—plain-language guides, real-time alerts, and transparent communication about what happens when income or benefits shift. Housing should not be a secret exam that no one is taught how to pass.

With a new mayoral administration on the horizon—and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promising “affordable housing” and rent freezes—it’s time to demand accountability for what those words really mean. 

Affordability without security is a half-truth. Until recertification reform, transparency, and tenant education are prioritized, we are not building affordable housing—we are maintaining conditional housing. The next mayor has an opportunity, and an obligation, to change that.

Rhonda Jackson is co-chair of the NYC Fund to End Youth and Family Homelessness, a steering committee member of the NYC Family Homelessness Coalition* and a longtime advocate for housing as a human right. A survivor of homelessness herself, she works to ensure that no child grows up believing instability is normal.

*The Family Homelessness Coalition is among City Limits’ funders.

The post Opinion: Conditional Housing Is Still Discriminatory appeared first on City Limits.

By JANIE HAR, Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The 27-year-old man charged with shooting former Oakland community college football coach John Beam made an initial court appearance Tuesday and will continue to be held without bail.

Cedric Irving Jr. has been charged with murder and several enhancements in Beam’s death, and he could face 50 years to life in prison if convicted, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said at a news conference Monday.

He did not enter a plea Tuesday and his arraignment was set for Dec. 16.

Prosecutors have not provided a motive for the shooting at Laney College.

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Beam, 66, was a giant in the local community, a father figure who forged deep relationships with his players while fielding a team that regularly competed for championships. The Netflix docuseries “Last Chance U” focused on Beam and the Laney Eagles in its 2020 season. He’d most recently been serving as the school’s athletic director after retiring from coaching last year.

Irving has no criminal record, the district attorney said.

Officers arrived at Laney College before noon Thursday to find Beam shot in the head at the athletics field house. He was treated at a hospital, but died the following day from his injuries.

Irving was arrested at a commuter rail station just after 3 a.m. Friday. He was carrying the firearm used to shoot Beam, and he admitted to carrying out the shooting, according to the probable cause document.

Oakland police say the shooting was “very targeted.”

Back-to-back shootings at two schools last week have roiled Oakland, a city of roughly 400,000 across the bay from San Francisco. On Wednesday, a student was shot and wounded at Oakland’s Skyline High School.

Beam joined Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach and became head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. According to his biography on the college’s website, at least 20 of his players went on to the NFL.

Federal agents detained people Tuesday at an industrial building off St. Paul’s University Avenue, prompting people to gather in protest.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said in a statement that ICE Homeland Security Investigations “and law enforcement partners conducted court authorized law enforcement activity and served a search warrant in furtherance of a federal criminal investigation,” which is ongoing.

People on social media noted that federal agents amassed in Newell Park on Fairview Avenue on Tuesday morning before heading to Bro-Tex Inc. on Hampden Avenue near University Avenue. The company’s website says they’ve been manufacturing and converting cloth and paper wiping products since 1923.

Outside the building, some people swarmed vehicles driven by federal agents and followed one, kicking it and yelling, “No justice, no peace.”

Federal personnel sprayed people with a chemical irritant. An observer said a protester was arrested.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and City Council Member Molly Coleman, who represents the area, went to the site.

Coleman wrote on social media that they’ve heard reports that “several individuals” were taken by the federal government and said they’re working on getting more information.

“Federal agents caused multiple injuries and deployed tear gas multiple times,” Coleman wrote. “The agencies that had a confirmed presence are: FBI, ICE, DEA, and HSI. Federal agents were seen with ‘police vests’ but we have confirmation that SPPD and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office were not involved or present.”

A person who answered the phone at Bro-Tex said the company had no comment as of Tuesday morning.

Carter wrote in a post: “Though we don’t have many details right now, I share the concern and fear this raises for our works, families, and the entire community. Remember you have rights” and directed people to stpaul.gov/immigration-resources.

The Immigrant Defense Network is planning a community vigil at the site, 830 N. Hampden Ave., at 9 am. Wednesday.

“What happened today is not law enforcement — it is an assault on our community,” said a representative from the Immigrant Defense Network in a statement. “No one should fear that simply going to work, providing for their family, or standing up for their neighbors will result in federal agents storming a workplace, detaining people en masse, and deploying chemical weapons against Minnesotans.”

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