ALBAWABA - On Saturday, Jordan and Germany said that any international stabilization force that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to send to the Gaza Strip must get permission from the United Nations Security Council. This is because reports say that the force would only have Muslim troops.
Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister of Jordan, said, "We all agree that the stabilization force needs permission from the UN Security Council to do its job." Safadi also made it clear that Jordan will not send troops to join this force.
His comments were made at the Manama Dialogue forum in Bahrain, where he was with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul. Wadephul said that Berlin supports giving the proposed Gaza force an official UN mandate.
Wadephul said that this kind of mission would need "a clear foundation in international law," and he said that this is "critically important for any countries willing to send troops to Gaza, as well as for the Palestinians."
Troops from the Muslim World
The Telegraph, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, said on Friday that the planned peacekeeping force would only have Muslim soldiers patrolling Gaza as part of the stabilization mission.
The report says that most of the troops on the ground would come from nearby countries. The goal is to lower tensions and keep the troops' credibility in the area.
The paper also said that potential contributors were still disagreeing about the makeup of the force and its specific mission. For example, should it focus on disarming Hamas or just keeping Gaza safe after Hamas, and what should its official legal basis be?
Jordan has already said that any peacekeeping force in Gaza will not disarm Hamas by force. Israel has also said that Qatar or Turkey will not be involved, but there are rumors that Indonesia, Egypt, or the UAE might be involved.
No Force Has Been Formed Yet
It has been more than three weeks since the ceasefire in Gaza went into effect, and the proposed international stabilization force, which is an important part of Trump's plan, has not yet appeared.
During a meeting in Cairo in October, Palestinian groups led by Fatah and Hamas stressed how important it was to get a UN resolution to allow the creation of a temporary international force to watch over the ceasefire.
