The US has sought UN approval for the establishment of an International Security Force (ISF) in Gaza, whose mandate will be for at least 2 years.
The US website ‘Axios’ reported on Tuesday that the US has sent a draft resolution to several member states of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which details the establishment of the proposed force to maintain security in the Gaza Strip.
According to Axis (which obtained a copy of the draft), the resolution has been declared sensitive but unclassified.
The report states that the resolution gives the US and other participating countries broad authority to deploy a security force to manage Gaza until the end of 2027, with the possibility of extending this period.
The force will be established with the advice of the ‘Gaza Peace Board’, which will be chaired by US President Donald Trump.
According to the report, this board will also last at least until the end of 2027.
However, a US official told ‘Axis’ that the ISF will not be a peacekeeping mission but an enforcement force, with the goal of voting on the resolution in the next few weeks and having the first troops in Gaza by January.
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According to the report, the draft will form the basis for future negotiations among Security Council members. It states that the ISF will be tasked with securing Gaza’s borders (with Israel and Egypt), protecting civilians and aid corridors, training a new Palestinian police force, and partnering with the Palestinians.
According to the draft, the ISF will be responsible for stabilizing security in Gaza, which will include demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, preventing the destruction and reconstruction of military and terrorist infrastructure, and permanently confiscating weapons from non-state armed groups.
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According to Axios, this indicates that the force’s mandate extends to disarming Hamas, which it will do if it does not do so itself, and that an international force will do so.
It has been further stated that the ISF will be deployed in Gaza under a ‘unified command acceptable to the Peace Council’ and will be in close consultation and cooperation with Egypt and Israel.
The proposed force will have the authority to take all necessary measures in accordance with international law, in particular humanitarian law, to fulfill its mandate.
According to Axios, the ISF aims to provide security in Gaza during the transitional period, during which Israel will gradually withdraw from more areas and the Palestinian Authority will be able to take long-term control of Gaza through its reform measures.
The draft resolution further stated that the Peace Board would be given powers as an interim administrative body, under which the board would oversee a non-political, technocratic Palestinian committee responsible for the civil administration and day-to-day affairs of Gaza.
The resolution also included that the aid would be delivered through the United Nations, the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent, with the cooperation of the Peace Board, and that any organization that misuses or diverts this aid would face sanctions.
