Countries would reject being asked to “enforce” peace in Gaza if deployed under the Trump ceasefire plan, King Abdullah of Jordan has told the BBC.
“What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it’s peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that,” said King Abdullah in an exclusive interview for BBC Panorama.
“Peacekeeping is that you’re sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, which Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we’re running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that’s not a situation that any country would like to get involved in.”
The King’s comments reflect concern from the US and other nations about being dragged into a continuing conflict between Hamas and Israel, or Hamas and other Palestinian groups. According to the UN, peace enforcement uses coercive measures including military force, while peacekeeping operates with the consent of the parties to a conflict and troops only use force in self-defence and defence of their mandate.
Under US President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Arab states and international partners are to commit stabilisation forces that “will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field.” Hamas is to disarm and give up political control of the territory.
However Hamas has not yet disarmed and has mobilised thousands of fighters to reassert its grip on parts of the territory, Israel has carried out air strikes and other Palestinian armed groups are reportedly operating in parts of Gaza under Israeli control.
King Abdullah said he would not send Jordanian forces into Gaza because his country was “too close politically” to the situation. More than half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent, and over decades, the country has taken in 2.3 million Palestinian refugees fleeing earlier wars with Israel – the largest number in the region.
Asked if he trusted Hamas to keep its promise to give up any political role in Gaza, he replied: “I don’t know them, but those that are working extremely close to them – Qatar and Egypt – feel very, very optimistic that they will abide by that.
“If we don’t solve this problem, if we don’t find a future for Israelis and Palestinians and a relationship between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel, we’re doomed.”
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