US wants Arab states to join peacekeeping force in Gaza

Israel National News

The Biden administration is urging Arab states to join a “peacekeeping” force which would control Gaza once the war ends, the Financial Times reported.

The initiative aims to fill the vacuum which would be created in Gaza once Hamas is toppled and until a “credible Palestinian security apparatus” could be established.

Among the countries the US has been discussing its plans with are Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, all of which are “considering” the initiative. The US has also spoken to Saudi Arabia about the plan, but the Saudis are unwilling to deploy their own forces to the area, for fear of being seen as Israel’s allies, or drawn into an insurgency in Gaza.

At the same time, according to Western and Arab officials, US President Joe Biden is unwilling to send American troops into Gaza.

One Western official told the Financial Times, “Arab states have said it should be US-led so the US is trying to work out how it can lead it without having boots on the ground. Three Arab states have had initial discussions, including Egypt, the UAE and Morocco, but they would want the US to recognize a Palestinian state first.”

One person briefed on the discussions said, “American policy is pretty firm that there will be no American troops on the ground, so it’s hard for them to make the argument that others should.”

The Western official agreed with this, noting to the Financial Times that one of the major issues is “the international element of any force, which isn’t moving forward as neither the US nor the Europeans want to put boots on the ground.”