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JERUSALEM:
Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday that the United States and allies face a tough task disarming Hamas and building a peaceful future for Gaza, as Washington sought to reassure Israel over the next steps in its ambitious ceasefire deal.
Vance met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the second day of a trip to Israel, part of a diplomatic blitz in support of the US-brokered plan to end the fighting, recover hostages and, eventually, rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory.
“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people of Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said.
Washington’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is due in Israel on Thursday and will meet Netanyahu on Friday, an Israeli government spokeswoman said.
Vance had kicked off the three-day visit on Tuesday by opening the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in southwest Israel, where US and allied troops will work with Israeli forces to monitor the truce and oversee aid to Gaza.
Turkish troops?
“A lot of our Israeli friends are working together with a lot of Americans to actually mediate this entire ceasefire process, to get some of the critical infrastructure off the ground,” Vance said, after talks with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Vance pointed to the “international security force” as one of the bodies that would have to be set up.
Under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, this military mission would keep the peace in Gaza as Israel withdraws.
Several US allies from the Arab and Muslim world are considering joining the force, but no US troops would be on the ground inside Gaza, instead coordinating from the CMCC in Kiryat Gat, Israel.
