Washington Gathers 40 Nations in Doha to Discuss Deploying International Force in Gaza

SadaNews - The U.S. Central Command is holding a special conference today, Tuesday, in Qatar with representatives from 40 countries, most of whom are military representatives, aimed at outlining the list of countries that will participate in the foreign military force planned to be deployed in the Gaza Strip as part of the second phase of President Trump's plan.

A day before the anticipated conference, Palestinian Vice President Hussein Sheikh visited Doha and discussed with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani the latest developments in the Palestinian situation and enhancing mutual coordination.

This comes amid international efforts to enter the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which began its first phase on October 10 last month.

Regarding the special conference that the U.S. Central Command will hold today, it will include countries that have already announced their readiness to send forces to the Gaza Strip, along with countries that are still considering their stance.

Representatives from these countries will discuss the missions of the foreign military force and whether it will operate in areas controlled by Hamas with the aim of disarming it or in areas controlled by Israel.

Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation ("Kan 11") pointed out that although Israel holds veto power over the composition of the force and has publicly opposed the participation of Turkish and Qatari forces, it will not participate directly in the conference by sending its representative to Doha. The report indicated that the United States plans to involve an Israeli representative via "Zoom," namely General Yaki Dolive, Israel's representative at the U.S. Central Command in Kiryat Gat.

It added that the conference is considered an "important station," with an additional conference on the same subject to be held in about two months.

In contrast, the "Haaretz" newspaper reported that Turkey was not invited to the Doha conference, despite its name being mentioned earlier as a candidate for participation in the international stabilizing force. A Western source stated that he knows Turkey will not participate, and speculated that it was not invited in the first place.

"Haaretz" cited its sources indicating that Turkey's exclusion is due to Israel's veto on its participation in the international force. According to the report, Doha and Ankara are currently exerting pressure on Washington to invite Turkey to the conference.

According to "Haaretz," the list of invited countries includes several nations that have repeatedly been proposed as candidates to join the stabilizing force, including Egypt, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, the UAE, and Italy, along with other countries like Yemen, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belgium, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Georgia, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and even Kosovo, which is not a UN member.

"Haaretz" revealed that Italy is currently the only country that has clearly committed to participating in the stabilizing force, having informed the United States of the number of soldiers it can allocate for the mission. According to the report, it is expected that the January conference will reach more realistic agreements and commitments.

The newspaper added that the United States shows clear signs of rapid progress towards the second phase of Trump's plan. In this context, it noted the presence of Blad White, a senior official in the political-military department of the U.S. State Department, currently in Israel with American security officials.

The newspaper reported that White and the accompanying U.S. officials will later head to Egypt, where they will discuss, among other things, the formation of a "Peace Council" that will manage Gaza, the Palestinian technocracy committee responsible for the daily administration of the sector, in addition to arrangements for deploying the international stabilizing force.