Gaza stabilization force gets Israeli security cabinet approval
Israel approved legal steps for an international force in Gaza, but no deployment date has been announced, Reuters reported.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Israel’s security cabinet has approved legal measures allowing a Gaza stabilization force to enter the territory, Reuters reported Sunday. The decision advances a central part of United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, though Reuters reported that no deployment schedule has been given.
An Israeli official said the International Stabilization Force, or ISF, would work in “full coordination with” the Israeli military, according to The Times of Israel. Reuters reported that the force is expected to include 200 people from friendly countries, including Uganda and Morocco.
The cabinet also decided that Israel would have authority to approve which countries are allowed to send personnel, Reuters reported. Under the deal now being carried out, Israel controls who may enter Gaza and regulates the amount of food and aid allowed in, according to Al Jazeera.
What is the Gaza stabilization force?
The International Stabilization Force is part of Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, which also calls for Hamas to disarm and for Israel to withdraw from the strip, according to Reuters. The force is meant to operate in areas of Gaza that are not under Israeli control.
The wider plan includes an international “Board of Peace” to oversee administration and reconstruction, Reuters reported. It also calls for a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, as a technocratic body to run the territory during a transitional period.
Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the Gaza Board of Peace, welcomed Israel’s approval, according to Reuters. Mladenov, a former Bulgarian foreign minister and defence minister, said the deployment was a key element of the agreed framework for stabilising Gaza, supporting demilitarisation and moving toward Palestinian transitional administration under the NCAG.
Reuters reported that most Western countries declined to join the Gaza Board of Peace. The report did not give a date for when the ISF would begin work in Gaza.
Where would the force operate in Gaza?
Israel currently occupies close to 70 percent of Gaza, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet reported that nearly two million Palestinians have been pushed into a shrinking part of the strip as Israel shifts the “Yellow Line,” the boundary marking areas it withdrew to under the first phase of the deal.
The ISF would operate outside areas held by Israel, Reuters reported. That would put the force inside parts of Gaza that are not under Israeli military control, while Israel retains a role in approving participating countries.
The cabinet decision came one day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to travel to Washington, DC, according to Reuters. It follows an October ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, though Al Jazeera reported that Palestinian deaths from Israeli military actions have continued to be reported almost daily.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and 3,888 wounded since the deal was implemented, according to Al Jazeera. Reuters reported that the stabilization force remains one of several unresolved elements in the plan’s next stage.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.