Egypt, UAE ready to join US-proposed post-war Gaza security force

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed their willingness to join a post-war Gaza security force proposed by the United States, three officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on June 26.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts during a visit to Qatar, Egypt, Israel and Jordan two weeks ago that the US had made progress in establishing a force to secure Gaza after the war. Washington’s initiative has received support from Cairo and Abu Dhabi to create a force coordinated with local Palestinian soldiers.

However, officials said Egypt and the UAE both set conditions for joining, including a requirement that the initiative be tied to establishing a path toward a future Palestinian state — an outcome that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to prevent from happening.

A third source said Egypt also demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza – a condition that is seen as contradicting Prime Minister Netanyahu’s pledge to maintain overall security control over the post-war Gaza Strip to prevent a Hamas resurgence.

The UAE also asked the US to participate in a post-war Gaza security force.

For his part, Secretary Blinken told his counterparts that the US would help establish and train the security force, while ensuring that it would be temporary and would eventually be replaced by an all-Palestinian force. The unification of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under a single governing body is seen as an essential step toward a two-state solution. However, the US secretary of state made it clear that Washington would not allow its troops to participate.

“In the coming weeks, we will be putting forward proposals, plans that include specific ideas about how to manage governance, security and reconstruction in Gaza after the war,” Secretary of State Blinken said at a press conference on June 12 in Doha.

Officials who spoke to The Times of Israel said the US hoped that Saudi Arabia would lead the reconstruction effort. On governance, Secretary Blinken told his counterparts privately that the goal would be to establish a transitional government in Gaza that would work closely with countries in the region.

During the press conference, Secretary of State Blinken also acknowledged that Hamas would be one of the parties deciding whether the war continued, but then stressed that this force could not and would not be allowed to decide the future of Gaza.

On the Israeli side, the US has repeatedly called on the country to come up with a plan to manage the strip after the war. For months, Netanyahu has resisted holding high-level talks on post-war Gaza management, not wanting to antagonize his far-right coalition partners in the government, who want Israel to take over Gaza and establish settlements there.