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US to build military base in Gaza Strip to house 5,000 peacekeepers – report

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The Trump administration is reportedly planning to build a large military base inside the Gaza Strip to station troops deployed as part of the International Stabilization Force.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration has drafted plans for a new military base inside the Gaza Strip, the Guardian reported Thursday.

The report cites contracting records for the US-backed Board of Peace that call for the construction of a large facility inside Gaza to house thousands of international peacekeepers deployed to the Strip as part of the administration’s Gaza peace plan.

According to the contracts, the base will cover more than 350 acres and house some 5,000 personnel attached to the International Stabilization Force.

The plan calls for the base to be built in stages, establishing a military outpost 1.4 kilometers (0.87 miles) by 1.1 kilometers (0.68 miles), surrounded by 26 trailer-mounted armored watchtowers and equipped with a small shooting range, a network of bunkers, and an armory.

The outpost will be ringed with barbed wire for added protection.

The base is slated for construction in southern Gaza, in an area on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line.

No contractor has yet been selected for the base’s construction, though a number of firms specializing in military facilities built in active combat zones have visited the planned site.

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Thus far, Indonesia has offered to deploy up to 8,000 troops to the Gaza Strip while other states that have expressed interest have yet to commit soldiers.

Hamas has repeatedly objected to plans to deploy foreign peacekeeping troops in the Gaza Strip, while also ruling out disarming, as demanded by the Trump peace plan.

While the plans for a dedicated ISF base in the Gaza Strip signify progress toward the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza plan, key issues have yet to be resolved, including laying out the ISF’s precise mission parameters and use-of-force protocols – both of which could shape potential donor states’ decisions on whether to commit troops.

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