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UAE, Egypt to send troops for post-war Gaza security: Report

Washington is eager to promote its plans for post-war Gaza, which would see Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia leading reconstruction efforts.

By World Israel News Staff

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt will provide manpower for a post-war transitional period in the Gaza Strip, which will see Arab countries take the lead in clamping down on terror while Israeli soldiers withdraw from the coastal enclave.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in closed-door meetings that Washington is making progress on creating a military force responsible for security in the Strip, which will be comprised of troops from Arab and Muslim nations, according to a Times of Israel report.

However, both the UAE and Egypt said they would only participate in such a force as part of a plan that creates an independent Palestinian state. Additionally, the UAE reportedly demanded that the U.S. also be part of the security force.

Despite an official ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group not yet materializing, Washington is eager to promote its plans for post-war Gaza, which would see Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia leading reconstruction efforts.

Blinken is reportedly in contact with other countries in the Islamic world, including Morocco, Bahrain, Turkey, Indonesia, Qatar, and Jordan, seeking their support for a “post-war stabilization period.”

Washington’s goal is to see Israeli troops withdraw from the Strip, being replaced by those from Arab nations and then eventually the Palestinian Authority.

Notably, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted setting a deadline by which Israeli soldiers must leave the Strip, saying that troops would remain there as long as terror remains a threat in the territory.

Additionally, Netanyahu has expressed his refusal to allow the Palestinian Authority to govern the Strip, saying that he will not allow “Hamas-stan to become Fatah-stan,” using the Arabic term for the PA.

It’s unclear if Washington’s goals, which clash with Israel’s demands for future governance of the Strip, will actually come to fruition.

“We are continuing discussions with the PA, key partners, and the Israelis on day after planning for Gaza, to include governance, security and reconstruction,” a State Department spokesperson told the Times of Israel in response to the report.

“A day after plan for Gaza will be key to building an enduring end to the conflict, but also turning an end of the war into a just and durable peace, and using that peace as a foundation for building a more integrated, a more stable, a more prosperous region.”