GAZA: The US-backed Board of Peace is preparing its first contract to build a military outpost for an international stabilization force in Gaza, proposed under Washington’s postwar road map for the enclave, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The project involves building a temporary base for an initial contingent of 150 troops. Moroccan personnel are expected to form the first deployment, although the legal framework governing the force has yet to be completed, the report said.
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a deal for Hamas to disarm and for Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza. According to that, the ISF would be deployed to Gaza after the completion of a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops.
The construction contract is expected to be awarded to Arkel International, a Louisiana-based engineering firm that has previously carried out projects for the US government in Iraq.
A Board of Peace official said that several contracts were in the final stages of preparation but none had yet been finalized.
“One prospective contract concerns facilities to support the international stabilization force, which will assist in implementing the road map’s security and governance arrangements,” the person said.
But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the US-backed plan. He said that Israeli forces would not pull out until after Hamas had disarmed and that his government had submitted amendments after receiving the initial draft.
Israel’s security cabinet last week approved the deployment of an international stabilization force as part of a limited pilot program in the Rafah area but it remains unclear whether Israel has concluded the required legal agreement with the Board of Peace that would allow the force to deploy.
Israel controls more than 60 percent of Gaza, including territory behind the so-called Yellow Line and additional restricted zones.
The Board of Peace official told The Guardian that the planned military base would lie within 60 percent Israeli-controlled territory.
