What Do We Know About the Palestinian Forces Training to Operate in Gaza?

Special Operations Unit 101 of the Palestinian National Security Forces (National Security website) 
Special Operations Unit 101 of the Palestinian National Security Forces (National Security website) 
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What Do We Know About the Palestinian Forces Training to Operate in Gaza?

Special Operations Unit 101 of the Palestinian National Security Forces (National Security website) 
Special Operations Unit 101 of the Palestinian National Security Forces (National Security website) 

Palestinian security agencies have begun preparing for a possible return to Gaza, as officers undergo targeted training in Egypt and Jordan for what could become a post-war security mission in the territory.

Although these training programs have existed for years, officials say recent sessions are now designed with “the day after” scenario in mind.

The shift follows a UN Security Council resolution supporting a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump that secured a ceasefire last month after two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The plan calls for an international stabilization force responsible for guarding borders with Israel and Egypt and removing weapons from “non-governmental armed groups” in Gaza.

Major General Anwar Rajab, spokesperson for the Palestinian Security Forces, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Palestinian forces are “ready to take control of Gaza immediately,” though political agreement is still pending.

He said only small groups have received mission-specific training so far, but “thousands more will undergo additional training in the coming weeks under the supervision of friendly Arab and European countries.” Still, he cautioned that “nothing is final yet,” and that uncertainty remains over the future of Gaza’s governance.

A European official told Agence France-Presse that the EU plans to train up to 3,000 police officers from Gaza, similar to its long-standing programs in the West Bank. The trainees will be chosen from officers not affiliated with Hamas.

Although around 7,000 police in Gaza remain on the Palestinian Authority payroll, many are retired or unfit for duty; roughly 3,000 could be retrained, with training expected to occur outside Gaza.

Rajab confirmed that while some officers have died, retired, or grown too old to serve, “our forces in Gaza remain operational and ready.” Gaza currently has about 13,000 security personnel, with another 36,000 serving in the West Bank.

The EU, the largest financial supporter of the Palestinian Authority, has funded police training in the West Bank since 2006. EU ministers will discuss the Gaza plan during a meeting in Brussels that coincides with an international donor conference attended by about 60 delegations, excluding Israel.

The UN resolution authorizes a temporary international force to work alongside Israel, Egypt and newly trained Palestinian units to secure border areas. Israeli media report the government is already preparing for the arrival of foreign troops.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hamas would be disarmed “either the easy way, through international forces, or the hard way, by Israel.”

Palestinian officials reject that interpretation. A senior Palestinian Authority source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the international force should “secure borders and protect civilians, while assisting Palestinian forces, without deploying deep inside Gaza or interfering in internal affairs.”

He insisted that Gaza must remain under full Palestinian political and legal authority. He said: “Gaza is part of the Palestinian state, and our responsibility, not anyone else’s.”

He added that Hamas’ weapons should be handed over only to the Palestinian Authority. President Mahmoud Abbas has previously demanded Hamas surrender its arms, but the group has not agreed. Hamas says it might only consider disarmament within a comprehensive deal leading to full Palestinian statehood, complicating the mission for any foreign force.

Arab governments, according to diplomatic sources, do not want their troops drawn into fighting in Gaza or tasked with disarming Palestinian factions, especially a mission that Israel could not accomplish.

Rajab reaffirmed the Palestinian stance of “one state, one law, and one legitimate weapon,” and emphasized that any foreign presence must not replace Palestinian security forces. The only military unwelcome in Gaza, he said, is Israel: “We will not accept a single Israeli soldier there.”

Countries reportedly being considered for participation in the international force include Indonesia, Pakistan and Azerbaijan, though details remain unclear. Jordan has ruled out sending troops but, along with Egypt, has expressed readiness to train Palestinian forces to assume responsibility for internal security, with full Palestinian consent and without foreign control inside Gaza.

 

 



Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.


Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.


Gaza's Rafah Crossing Reopens, Allowing Limited Travel as Palestinians Claim Delays, Mistreatment

Ayada Al-Sheikh is welcomed by his sister, Nisreen, upon his arrival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after returning to Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, early Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Ayada Al-Sheikh is welcomed by his sister, Nisreen, upon his arrival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after returning to Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, early Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza's Rafah Crossing Reopens, Allowing Limited Travel as Palestinians Claim Delays, Mistreatment

Ayada Al-Sheikh is welcomed by his sister, Nisreen, upon his arrival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after returning to Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, early Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Ayada Al-Sheikh is welcomed by his sister, Nisreen, upon his arrival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after returning to Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, early Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A limited number of Palestinians were able to travel between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday, after Gaza's Rafah crossing reopened after a two-day closure, Egyptian state media reported.

The vital border point opened last week for the first time since 2024, one of the main requirements for the US-backed ceasefire. The crossing was closed Friday and Saturday because of confusion about reopening operations.

Egypt's Al Qahera television station said that Palestinians began crossing in both directions around noon on Sunday. Israel didn't immediately confirm the information, according to The AP news.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week, though the major subject of discussion will be Iran, his office said.

Over the first four days of the crossing's opening, just 36 Palestinians requiring medical care were allowed to leave for Egypt, plus 62 companions, according to UN data, after Israel retrieved the body of the last hostage held in Gaza and several American officials visited Israel to press for the opening.

Palestinian officials say nearly 20,000 people in Gaza are seeking to leave for medical care that isn't available in the territory. Those who have succeeded in crossing described delays and allegations of mistreatment by Israeli forces and other groups involved in the crossing, including an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab.

A group of Palestinian patients and wounded gathered Sunday morning in the courtyard of a Red Crescent hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, before making their way to the Rafah crossing with Egypt for treatment abroad, family members told The Associated Press.

Amjad Abu Jedian, who was injured in the war, was scheduled to leave Gaza for medical treatment on the first day of the crossing’s reopening, but only five patients were allowed to travel that day, his mother, Raja Abu Jedian, said. Abu Jedian was shot by an Israeli sniper while he doing building work in the central Bureij refugee camp in July 2024, she said.

On Saturday, his family received a call from the World Health Organization notifying them that he is included in the group that will travel on Sunday, she said.

“We want them to take care of the patients (during their evacuation),” she said. “We want the Israeli military not to burden them.”

The Israeli defense branch that oversees the operation of the crossing didn't immediately confirm the opening.

Heading back to Gaza A group of Palestinians also arrived Sunday morning at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to return to the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News satellite television reported.

Palestinians who returned to Gaza in the first few days of the crossing's operation described hours of delays and invasive searches by Israeli authorities and Abu Shabab. A European Union mission and Palestinian officials run the border crossing, and Israel has its screening facility some distance away.

The crossing was reopened on Feb. 2 as part of a fragile ceasefire deal to halt the Israel-Hamas war.

The Rafah crossing, an essential lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, was the only one in the Palestinian territory not controlled by Israel before the war. Israel seized the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024, though traffic through the crossing was heavily restricted even before that.

Restrictions negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials meant that only 50 people would be allowed to return to Gaza each day and 50 medical patients — along with two companions for each — would be allowed to leave, but far fewer people have so far crossed in both directions.

A senior Hamas official, Khaled Mashaal, said the militant group is open to discuss the future of its arms as part of a “balanced approach” that includes the reconstruction of Gaza and protecting the Palestinian enclave from Israel.

Mashaal said the group has offered multiple options, including a long-term truce, as part of its ongoing negotiations with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators.

Hamas plans to agree to a number of “guarantees,” including a 10-year period of disarmament and an international peacekeeping force on the borders, “to maintain peace and prevent any clashes,” between the militants and Israel, Mashaal said at a forum in Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Israel has repeatedly demanded a complete disarmament and destruction of Hamas and its infrastructure, both military and civil.

Mashaal accused Israel of financing and arming militias, like the Abu Shabab group which operates in Israeli military-controlled areas in Gaza, “to create chaos” in the enclave.

In the forum, Mashaal was asked about Hamas’ position from US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. He didn’t offer a specific answer, but said that the group won’t accept “foreign intervention” in Palestinian affairs.

“Gaza is for the people of Gaza. Palestinians are for the people of Palestine,” he said. “We will not accept foreign rule.”