Trump’s plan in Gaza includes a military base with capacity for 5,000 troops to control the territory

The project would occupy approximately 1.4 square kilometers and would become the operational core of a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), whose objective is none other than maintain internal order in the Gaza Strip.

The ISF is part of the newly created Peace Boardan international mission destined to govern Gaza until security circumstances are met for the Gazan population.

This body is chaired by the Donald Trump and counts as leaders of the organization personalities close to his Administration, such as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

In context, we must remember that the European Union views this Peace Board with strong skepticism, since it sees it as incompatible with the UN, but sent a delegation this Thursday to avoid being left out of the presentation ceremony in Washington.

Besides, With the support of this future ISF, the aim is to protect the civilian population and support the training and supervision of pre-vetted Palestinian police forces, according to the mandate approved by the UN.

In parallel, this contingent at an international level would have the mission of creating security conditions that allow progress in the reconstruction of the territory, in a context marked by Israel’s demand that Hamas be disarmed as a prior step to starting a recovery process.

This initiative that the White House is preparing has been revealed by the British newspaper The Guardianwith a plan for Gaza that generates legal, political and humanitarian controversy.

According to the information, the complex would be built on a wide desert plain in the south of Gaza and includes a maximum security device.

Among them stands out: perimeter sealed with barbed wire, 26 armored watchtowers, shooting range for light weapons, logistics ships and a network of bunkers connected to each other with reinforced ventilation systems.

This memory designed by the Trump Administration adds the requirement to carry out geophysical studies to detect tunnels or large underground cavities, in reference to the network excavated by the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza area.

He military base contracting document was issued by the Peace Boardaccording to a person familiar with the process, and was prepared with the help of US officials specializing in war site contracting.

The aforementioned military base would be under the command of the so-called Peace Board, an organization recently established with the support of the UN to organize a temporary international deployment in Gaza.

A source close to the planning has explained that a small group of international construction companies with experience in war zones have already visited the enclave.

In fact, the aforementioned document details the US plans and states that “a geophysical study of the site must be carried out to identify any underground voids, tunnels or large cavities per phase,” referring to the extensive network of tunnels built by Hamas.

Protocol and legal doubts

In addition, there is also a protocol in case of finding human remains: All work must stop immediately and inform those in charge for instructions.

According to data from the Gaza civil defense agency, it is estimated that Around 10,000 Gazans remain buried under the rubble.

In the legal chapter, on the part of International Law, it is not very clear who is the owner of the land where the military complex is intended to be built, although the South of Gaza currently remains under Israeli control.

This dominance of Israel over the area means that criticism of the US project is more intense. It is the case of Diana Buttoa Palestinian-Canadian lawyer, who was very harsh with the line followed by the United States in Gaza.

Buttu also wonders where this supposed Peace Board obtained permission to build this military base. The Palestinian lawyer describes what was devised by the United States as an “occupation of the land,” alleging not counting on the Palestinian National Authority.

In any case, US officials decline to comment about this project, ensuring that “they do not respond to document leaks.” In parallel, he assured that “there will be no United States troops on the ground, as President Donald Trump already said.”

A controversial Board

Even though he UN Security Council has authorized its support to the creation of a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza, this must have as its main objective “guaranteeing the Gaza border and protecting the civilian population.”

Currently, it is unknown what the ISF’s rules of engagement would be in the event of fighting, if Israeli bombing resumes, or if Hamas attacks occur.

It has also not been defined what role the ISF would have in the disarmament of Hamas.an indispensable condition imposed by Israel to advance with the reconstruction of Gaza.

Although more than 20 countries have signed up as members of this kind of coalition, much of the international community has remained on the sidelines.

Although it was established with the approval of the UN, the organization’s charter appears to give Trump permanent leadership and control.

For now, the deployment of troops that will occur in the area, nor the origin of the soldiers, remains unknown. As advanced The Guardianhe The Indonesian executive would have put on the table the sending of up to 8,000 troops to integrate the deployment.

Its president, the former general Prabowo Subiantois one of the international leaders who attended this Thursday the inaugural meeting of the Peace Board, held in Washington.

The creation of this Peace Board, with its international Stabilization coalition, generates a great debate at the international level and from a legal point of view.

These doubts cause some international law specialists to question its normative fit. Among them, Adil Haque, Professor of Law at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has defined it as “a legal fiction.”

For Rutgers, it is a formally autonomous entity that, in practice, would operate under the direct influence of the White House.

“This Peace Board is a kind of legal fiction, nominally with its own international legal personality separate from both the UN and the United States, but in reality it is just an empty shell for the United States to use as it sees fit,” he noted.

The different experts consulted point out that funding and governance structures remain unclearwhich casts more doubts on its ability to act.

In addition, several contractors questioned have assured that conversations with US officials are usually carried out through alternative means such as Signal, and not through official email.