The battle for control of post-truce Gaza is underway, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making the first move. He declared Sunday that Israel will determine the peacekeeping force’s members, a move the United States has already deemed “acceptable.”
“We have made it clear… Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us,” Netanyahu stated. This comes as Hamas, which still controls Gaza, refuses to disarm.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Israel, confirmed the US-Israel alignment. He said the force must be “countries that Israel’s comfortable with” and that Gaza’s future governance must be decided “excluding Hamas.”
Netanyahu has already signaled this veto would be used to block Turkey, reflecting soured relations.
The truce itself is unstable. An Israeli strike on the Nuseirat camp was branded a “clear violation” by Hamas. Furthermore, the slow exchange of remains has prompted a public warning from Donald Trump.