Hamas Resists US Effort to Reshape Postwar Gaza Governance

[ad_1] Hamas signaled resistance Friday to key components of President Donald Trump's Gaza peace initiative, underscoring the fragility of efforts to safe an enduring truce after two years of devastating battle with Israel.

Talking to AFP, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem stated the group would settle for worldwide peacekeeping forces to watch a ceasefire in Gaza however rejected any position that will contain interference within the enclave's "inner affairs."

"Our place on worldwide forces is obvious," Qassem stated.

"We would like peacekeeping forces that monitor the ceasefire, guarantee its implementation, and act as a buffer between the occupation military and our individuals within the Gaza Strip, with out interfering in Gaza's inner affairs," he stated.

The remarks got here sooner or later after the inaugural assembly of Trump's newly shaped "Board of Peace" in Washington, the place officers unveiled plans for an Worldwide Stabilization Power (ISF) for Gaza.

The proposed pressure would come with 20,000 troopers and a brand new police contingent aimed toward securing the territory and supporting postwar governance.

Morocco introduced it was ready to contribute police and troops, whereas ISF commander Main Normal Jasper Jeffers stated Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo had additionally pledged personnel. Indonesia has indicated it may ship as much as 8,000 troops.

On the assembly, U.S.-appointed excessive consultant for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov additionally introduced the beginning of recruitment for a post-Hamas Palestinian police pressure — a transfer broadly seen as a part of a broader effort to sideline the terrorist group's governing authority in Gaza.

Qassem prompt Hamas may settle for the coaching of Palestinian police "inside their nationwide framework" to take care of inner safety however warned in opposition to any association that will undermine the group's management or alter Gaza's political construction.

The Board of Peace was established following an October ceasefire brokered by the Trump administration alongside longtime regional mediators Qatar and Egypt.

Whereas the truce halted lively hostilities, the newest dispute highlights persistent divisions over who will govern and safe Gaza, a central impediment that has repeatedly derailed makes an attempt at a sturdy peace between Israel and Hamas.