Nations would reject being asked to enforce Gaza peace—King of Jordan

(MENAFN) King Abdullah of Jordan has expressed doubts that foreign troops would willingly participate in enforcing peace in Gaza under US President Trump’s ceasefire plan. He highlighted that Arab nations and international partners are expected to provide stabilization forces to train and support vetted Palestinian police units, while consulting with Jordan and Egypt. Hamas is expected to disarm and relinquish political control of the territory.

"What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it's peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that," King Abdullah said. He emphasized that Jordan and Egypt are prepared to train Palestinian security forces but warned against deploying armed international patrols in Gaza. "Peacekeeping is that you're sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, which Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we're running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that's not a situation that any country would like to get involved in."

The monarch’s concerns reflect worries that foreign nations could be drawn into a continuing conflict between Hamas and Israel, or among Palestinian factions. King Abdullah made it clear that Jordanian forces would not enter Gaza due to the country’s political proximity and the significant Palestinian population in Jordan, which includes over 2.3 million refugees from past conflicts.

On Hamas’ commitment to relinquishing power, the King said, "I don't know them, but those that are working extremely close to them - Qatar and Egypt - feel very, very optimistic that they will abide by that. If we don't solve this problem, if we don't find a future for Israelis and Palestinians and a relationship between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel, we're doomed."

Jordan has been active in humanitarian efforts in Gaza, including delivering aid and evacuating sick and injured children. King Abdullah has personally overseen aid missions, expressing shock at the devastation: "Looking over the back ramp was just shocking," he said.

"The devastation of that part of Gaza was just a shock to me. I've seen it myself, and how we, as the international community, are allowing this to happen is mind-boggling."

The King requested Trump’s support to evacuate 2,000 seriously ill Palestinian children, a gesture Trump described as "beautiful." Since then, 253 children have been evacuated to Jordan, with over 5,000 medically assisted overall.

About 15,000 Gazans, including roughly 3,000 children, remain in need of evacuation, a process slowed by security checks required by Israel and host countries.

Queen Rania of Jordan criticized the international community for its failure to end the conflict over the past two years. "You know what it's like to be a parent over the last two years? To watch your children suffering, starving, shaking in terror, and to be powerless to do anything about it, and to know that the whole world is watching and not to do anything about it. That nightmare, it's the nightmare of any parent, but that nightmare has been the daily reality for Palestinians for the last two years."

The Queen praised Trump for leveraging US diplomatic, military, and financial support to pressure Israel into a ceasefire. "To his credit, Trump was the first president in a long time to actually apply pressure on Israel. Beforehand, when they crossed lines, the US president would just maybe just say a few words of rebuke or they just get a slap on the wrist. President Trump actually got Netanyahu to actually agree to a ceasefire. And I hope that he continues to be engaged in this process."

Israel has accused Hamas of prolonging the war by withholding hostages and using civilians as human shields, while Hamas reports over 68,000 deaths since the Israeli invasion following the October 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. The ceasefire agreement also facilitated the release of 20 Israeli hostages and 250 Palestinian prisoners, with ongoing efforts to recover additional remains and detainees.

On the possibility of lasting peace, Queen Rania said, "I truly believe that Palestinians and Israelis can exist side by side. In the current atmosphere, there's too much animosity, too much anger and grief and hatred and cynicism between the two peoples to actually forge a peace on their own. I'm not being naive here. But I think with the push of the international community, that is the only way. So many times during the past two years, hope had felt elusive. Choosing hope was not easy… it's hard, it's heavy. But it's the only path that doesn't deny Palestinians or betray their struggle or our humanity."

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