Trump hints Qatar could be part of Gaza ‘stabilisation force’
US President Trump met with Qatari leaders on board Air Force One during a refuelling stop at the Al Udeid airbase yesterday on his way to the Asia Pacific for the ASEAN summit.
After the meeting, Trump said efforts to stabilise Gaza were progressing and that a so-called “international stabilisation force” – part of his 20-point plan for Gaza – could include Qatari troops “if needed”. The security force for Gaza could be in place “pretty quickly”, he added. “They are actually picking leaders right now.”
Netanyahu says Israel will determine which foreign forces are ‘unacceptable’
The Israeli prime minister says as a sovereign state, Israel will determine its security policy and which foreign forces to work with.
“We control our own security, and we have made clear to international forces that Israel will decide which forces are unacceptable to us – and that is how we act and will continue to act,” Netanyahu said before a cabinet meeting.
“This is, of course, accepted by the United States, as its most senior representatives expressed in recent days.”
US officials discuss multinational force composition for Gaza
United States officials are getting input on a possible United Nations resolution or international agreement to authorise the multinational force in Gaza, and discussed the issue in Qatar on Sunday.
The administration of US President Donald Trump wants Arab states to contribute funds and troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is an independent country and rejected the notion “the American administration controls me and dictates Israel’s security policy”. Israel and the US, he said, are a “partnership”.
Last week, Netanyahu hinted he would oppose any role for Turkish forces in the Gaza Strip. Oncewarm Turkish-Israeli relations hit new lows during the Gaza war, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasting Israel’s devastating air-and-ground war on the small Palestinian enclave.
