(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Trump is planning to appoint a two-star US general to lead the international force that may be deployed to Gaza under the US ceasefire deal, Axios reported on Thursday, a step that would mark a significant escalation of US involvement in the Palestinian territory, which has been destroyed by Israel.
Trump’s plan calls for the establishment of what’s being called an “International Stabilization Force,” and the idea is for the ISF to replace IDF troops who are currently occupying more than 50% of Gaza and continuing to kill Palestinians. But it’s unclear if the force will materialize as countries initially willing to participate are hesitant over concerns that their troops could end up fighting Hamas on behalf of Israel.
Playing into those fears, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on Wednesday, while visiting Israel, that the ISF will be tasked with disarming Hamas. “The stabilization force in the Security Council resolution is authorized to [disarm Hamas]. We specifically put language in there that said, ‘by all means necessary.’ That’ll be a conversation with each country,” Waltz told Israel’s Channel 12.
“[Conversations on the] rules of engagement [for the ISF] are ongoing… President Trump has repeatedly said, Hamas will disarm one way or another — the easy way or the hard way,” he added.
The Axios report said that during his trip to Israel, Waltz informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would be in charge of the ISF and would appoint a general to lead it. “Waltz even said he knows the general personally and stressed he is a very serious guy,” an Israeli official told the outlet.
Waltz told Channel 12 that Azerbaijan was willing to participate in the ISF, but an Azerbaijani official told The Times of Israel over the weekend that Baku is far from making a decision. Turkey has said that it’s willing to contribute troops, but Israel has rejected the idea of a Turkish role.
In another sign that the US plan is stalled, President Trump said on Wednesday that he would announce the members of the so-called “Board of Peace,” a US-led body that will oversee Gaza, early next year. US officials initially said they wanted the board to be formed and to announce “phase two” of the ceasefire deal by Christmas.
The UN Security Council resolution that backed the US plan for Gaza places the Palestinian territory under the governance of the US for at least two years, partially fulfilling President Trump’s earlier calls for the US to “take over” Gaza. The US has already established a military base in southern Israel where it is “overseeing” the ceasefire, though Israel continues to launch attacks against Palestinians and impose restrictions on aid in violation of the deal.
The Axios report said that Trump’s Gaza plan is “turning into the biggest US political-civilian-military project in the Middle East in more than two decades.”
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
