By Liam Stack and Tyler Pager
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Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that an international security force that has yet to be formed would take the lead on disarming Hamas, which has been one of the thorniest issues when it comes to reaching a lasting peace in Gaza.
The vice president spoke from Israel, at the end of a visit aimed at shoring up a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. In remarks to reporters, Mr. Vance cautioned that the task of disarming Hamas — which the militant group has long opposed — was “going to take some time and it’s going to depend a lot on the composition of that force.”
The cease-fire deal that came into effect earlier this month was based on a proposal outlined in September by president Trump, which includes a stipulation that a “temporary International Stabilization Force” be deployed in Gaza. But several countries have hesitated to commit troops to such a force because its exact mission in the devastated Palestinian enclave was unclear. The possibility that such a force might be drawn into direct conflict with Hamas fighters has also been a worry.
While Mr. Vance did not address that concern in his brief remarks on Thursday, he reiterated that there would be “no American troops on the ground” in Gaza. Instead, he said, American personnel would be “supervising and mediating the peace.”
The 20-point peace proposal did not specify that the security force would be tasked with disarming Hamas, and a timeline for doing so has not been laid out. The force was originally envisioned as a way to secure areas of Gaza where Israeli troops have withdrawn, prevent munitions from entering the territory, facilitate the distribution of aid and train a Palestinian police force.
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The deal has come under strain from a recent flare-up of violence in Gaza, and lingering tensions over the exchange of deceased Israelis and Palestinians.
Several countries have been skittish about the idea of contributing troops to a Gaza security force because its exact mission in the devastated Palestinian enclave is unclear.Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York Times
It faced fresh challenges this week from Israeli lawmakers, who approved a preliminary measure for the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank — a move that is explicitly prohibited under the terms of Mr. Trump’s peace plan.
Mr. Vance said Thursday that the vote was “weird” and leveled sharp criticism at those lawmakers.
“If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it,” he said. “The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
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