EU diplomat says US role in Gaza security force still unclear, delaying mission

The American role in the emerging International Security Force for Gaza remains ill-defined, which is keeping the mission from being finalized, a European diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

“The intention of the US is not completely clear,” says the official. ” It’s not yet clear if it’s just to set up a C2 [command and control] structure and that’s it, or if they’re going to also participate in the force itself on the ground.”

“A lot depends on what the US will do, because there are some other nations who said they would be interested to participate, but we will ask first to have a guarantee that the US also are involved in the forces itself,” says the diplomat.

“That is the case for some of the Arab countries,” the official says.

The mandate of the force also remains in the air. “Would it be safeguarding order? Would it be, rather, a mission of training Palestinian forces? And in this case, where and how many? There are a lot of things that remain blurred for now.”

The diplomat says there should be clarity “in the coming days.”

Discussions are taking place right now between governments, but representatives may gather in Egypt next week.