The machinery to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza is already in motion. This Friday, Israeli Army troops began the withdrawal to the yellow linewhich divides the Strip approximately in two, to allow Palestinian militias to free the hostages safely.
It is the first of the steps of the call “phase 1” of the roadmap drawn up by the United States for the Palestinian enclave and agreed by Hamas and the Israeli Government. In the following phases, the Palestinian militias would hand over their weapons and a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats overseen by a “Peace Council” chaired by Donald Trump. To implement it, it will be necessary to deploy on the ground a international peace forceof which few details are known at the moment.
This Friday it became known that USA will deploy 200 soldiers to Israel as the hard core of the task force for the stabilization of Gazaas high-ranking US officials have assured Reuters and AP agencies.
The Pentagon’s Central Command will direct that “Civil-Military Coordination Center” to guarantee the security and logistics assistance of the territory and humanitarian aid entryaccording to AP. Representatives of the Armed Forces will also participate. Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye and possibly the United Arab Emiratesaccording to Reuters. At no time will there be US troops deployed in Gaza, the White House press secretary has clarified, Karoline Leavitt.
“This is not the first time that the United States has deployed troops in Israel; it did so during the Gulf War (1990-1991), when the Patriot missile systems operated,” he recalls in conversation with EL PERIÓDICO Rob Geistspecialist in International Security at Kings College London. “US troops will presumably gather intelligence to verify that both sides are complying with the agreement. They will probably also collaborate in the entry of humanitarian aidand in training peacekeepers to replace Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.”
International Stabilization Force
American participation already appeared in section 15 of the 20-point plan presented by the White House last week. “The United States will collaborate with Arab and international partners to create an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to be deployed immediately to Gaza”the text said. “The ISF will train and support selected Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and consult with Jordan and Egypt, which have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will collaborate with Israel and Egypt to help protect border areas, together with newly trained Palestinian police forces.”
The ceasefire agreement began in Gaza, the Israeli Army announces / .
Among the fundamental missions of the ISF will be to “prevent the entry of ammunition into Gaza” and to “facilitate the rapid and safe flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza”. In addition, there will be a joint conflict avoidance mechanism “agreed upon by the parties.” Therefore, the “rules of engagement” remain to be defined.
Arab, Muslim and European troops?
Trump wants these international forces to be formed by soldiers from countries in the region, such as the Gulf States, Egypt and Türkiye, explains Geist, an expert on Middle East security issues.
He President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subiantooffered in his speech at the UN General Assembly to send 20,000 soldiers to Gaza as a peacekeeping force, as long as the mission had the endorsement of the Security Council.
But everything indicates that this ISF will not be a strictly blue helmet mission, under the mantle of the UN and directed from New York, like the UNIFIL Lebanonbut a multilateral one controlled by the Pentagon.
The possible international contribution of troops was addressed at the meeting in Paris this Thursday. The French president, Emmanuel Macronsummoned the foreign ministers of the main European countries (France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom), Arab and Muslim countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Turkey) and Canada and the European Union, to a summit on Gaza. There he requested that a future peace force in Gaza be pitched in. The Europeans, who are preparing for another peace force in Ukrainethey were reticent.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes the foreign ministers of several European and Arab countries participating in a meeting on the future of Gaza, this Thursday in Paris. / THOMAS SAMSON / AP
“We all have to play a role in this stabilization force,” said the rooster presidentwho stated that his country is willing to provide soldiers, but only to train Palestinian security forces in Gaza.
He United Kingdom has rejected any contribution for the moment.
And Spain? “We are still very far from that. Something like that is not even proposed,” he said. the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albaresabout a possible Spanish participation in a peace mission for Gaza. “Spain has always been willing to participate in those peacekeeping forces that have a clear mandate. We never spare efforts for what can bring peace.”
There are already a dozen agents of the Civil Guard destined for the European EUBAM Rafah mission, which must guarantee the security of the border crossing with Egypt, now closed and controlled by Israel.
Unknowns of international deployment
The unknowns about the international deployment in Gaza for the moment eclipse the few known details. And the risks are countless.
“When will Israel complete the withdrawal? Will Hamas completely disarm? In what phase will peacekeepers be deployed?” What will be your mandate? How many soldiers will there be? Without knowing the answer to these questions, it is not possible to predict the success of the mission,” says Geist.
Another doubt is whether the deployment of mercenaries Americans like contractors in Gaza, as is currently the case with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The Israeli-American organization has replaced the food delivery system of international NGOs for months. In reality, it has become a death trap for the Palestinians. More than 2,000 have been shot dead when they approached delivery stations unarmed. The shots came from both Israeli soldiers and American mercenaries, according to the testimony of repentants, journalistic investigations and verified videos.
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