Trump’s Gaza Peacekeeping Plan Begins with 10–20 Troops, Far Below Initial Proposal

The backbone of the Trump administration's Gaza plan for the post-genocide era is now coming undone due to the difficulty of its proponents in getting even 20 members into the force.

The first step in the Trump administration's plan for how to manage Gaza after the war has failed to come to fruition - the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) has been scaled back from its original force of 20,000 peacekeepers to a small team of 10 to 20 troops, according to the exclusive Wall Street Journal report.

The dramatic contraction of the Gaza "day after" plan is a clear indication of the escalating political, security and diplomatic challenges facing Washington's plans to control the resistance movement, Hamas, without it becoming a military threat, and to ensure that the region is protected by an international force.

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The first force from Morocco, which was originally scheduled to arrive by June, has been postponed and will arrive in the next few months, according to U.S. military officials and sources familiar with the plans quoted by the newspaper.

The military forces will not march into Gaza right away, but will be deployed at a new logistics base close to the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they will train before undertaking "limited" reconnaissance and security missions in Gaza.

The initial plan was to have a multinational force of about 20,000 man, which was subsequently scaled back to 13,500 man. But the turmoil of the region, differences in politics between would-be contributors and persistent military friction has severely limited the project's scope.

Former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defence for Middle East Daniel Shapiro told the newspaper the recent conflict against Iran had delayed decisions on the force as well as dampened the resolve of many nations to join the conflict.

In March, the mission had been expecting troops from Indonesia, one of its biggest potential contributors, but the country suspended its participation this time due to the deteriorating security situation in the region.

The Indonesian government announced the country's participation is suspended.

The report indicates that only three countries, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan, are expected to make formal pledges towards the mission, which will now take place gradually over the next few months.

The expansion of the plan is under stress.

The challenges the peacekeeping force is facing reflect more on the broader challenges the Trump administration is facing with its Gaza strategy.

The ISF was conceived as one of the key elements of a post-genocide process in Gaza designed by the United States to gradually move towards a democratic system.

The plan called for the dismantling of Hamas and the transfer of power to a Palestinian technocratic council, a withdrawal of Israeli forces and the replacement of them by an international force, which would take charge of security, while a Board of Peace, led by the United States, would be responsible for reconstruction and political implementation.

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Hamas earlier this week declared it would disband its emergency committee in charge of Gaza's administration and hand over power to a proposed National Committee, but failed to pledge to disarm its military wing, leaving one of the plan's main conditions open.

Meanwhile, reconstruction has not started yet in most of Gaza and only a few of the estimated $17 billion pledged for reconstruction is said to have been secured. Rich Arab donors have largely avoided funding projects in Israeli-controlled areas, which they see as helping to strengthen the occupation.

The Wall Street Journal reports the first Moroccan deployment to help secure the logistics facility close to Kerem Shalom, which it says recently got its first delivery of tactical vehicles.

A second mission support base is yet to be built within the Gaza area.

The two sites were initially designed to support approximately 5,500 peacekeepers in the initial stages of deployment.

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