Jordan, Germany say Gaza’s International Stabilization Force will need UN mandate
Safadi says it would be only way for force to be effective; Wadephul says would ‘need a clear basis in international law’
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Jordan and Germany said on Saturday that the International Stabilization Force expected to deploy in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s postwar governance plan should have a UN mandate.
Under the Trump administration’s plan, a coalition of mainly Arab and Muslim nations is expected to deploy troops in the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by the war that broke out on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel.
The International Stabilization Force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan, as well as to secure border areas and prevent weapons smuggling to terror groups. The force is described in Trump’s plan as “the long-term internal security solution” for Gaza.
“We all agree that in order for that stabilization force to be able to be effective in getting the job done, it has to have a Security Council mandate,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.
Jordan, however, will not be sending its own forces to the Strip.
“We’re too close to the issue and we cannot deploy troops in Gaza,” Safadi said, adding his country was nonetheless ready to cooperate with the international force.
It remains unclear where funding for the force will come from and which countries will send troops — so far only Indonesia and Turkey have said they would be willing, but Israel has said it will not allow Turkish forces in Gaza.
Safadi was speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain alongside his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, who also supported a UN mandate for the force, saying it would “need a clear basis in international law.”
“We understand that this is of utmost importance to those countries who might be willing to send troops to Gaza and for the Palestinians. Germany would also want to see a clear mandate for this mission,” Wadephul said.
The idea of the stabilization force has drawn some criticism, with UN experts last month warning it would “replace Israeli occupation with a US-led occupation, contrary to Palestinian self-determination.”
The UN has mandated international peacekeeping forces in the region for decades, including UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, which is currently working with the Lebanese army to enforce a November 2024 ceasefire between the Hezbollah terror group and Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.