Official: Up to 500 Moroccan troops train for Gaza force; Board of Peace seeks greater Israeli cooperation post elections

Up to 500 Moroccan personnel have undergone training in preparation for deployment with the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, a Board of Peace official tells The Times of Israel, as preparations for the multinational force continue despite significant delays in implementing the US-backed Gaza peace plan.

The official says the training took place in Morocco, beginning around late August and involving an initial group of officers and instructors, followed by the broader contingent. The training was conducted by the US-led ISF, although the official could not confirm whether it had been fully completed yet.

Morocco committed in February to deploying police officers and military personnel to postwar Gaza, becoming the first Arab country to do so publicly. While three other countries — Albania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo — have also agreed to contribute troops, Morocco is slated to be the first of them to actually deploy personnel, officials familiar with the Board of Peace’s plans told ToI in July.

Meanwhile, the official also reports modest progress on a proposed UAE-backed compound for displaced Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled portion of Gaza, apparently in line with remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.

In a briefing yesterday, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not permit Gaza’s reconstruction until Hamas was disarmed and the territory demilitarized, while acknowledging an exception for the Emirati project, plans for which were first revealed earlier this year.

“The only thing we’ve agreed to [in Gaza] is an ‘Emirati bubble’ — they’re people who help us with many things,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had authorized certain infrastructure work for the project near its security zone.

The Board of Peace official also acknowledges that several initiatives remain delayed by outstanding Israeli approvals, including the construction of a proposed ISF base near the Yellow Line capable of accommodating some 150 personnel.

Despite Israeli support in principle, water, sewage, and sanitation projects have not advanced as anticipated, the official adds, raising concerns about potential environmental and health consequences, including the risk of spread into southern Israel.

The Board continues to cooperate with Israel while being mindful of the political pressures surrounding the elections, and hopes implementation can accelerate after next week’s vote, the official says.

“We need to move beyond constructive conversations to constructive implementation… We know that there’s limitations on what can be done by anybody given the election pressure, but that is why we are working hard to advance efforts on a lot of the more technical things,” the official says.

“We’re still advancing the plan. We’re moving forward. But obviously, after the election, we’d hope to accelerate that at a much faster speed.”