Israel’s security cabinet voted Sunday to grant the International Stabilization Force immunity under Israeli law, a legal enablement rather than an order to deploy, a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departs for Washington to meet President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s envoy for Gaza, called the vote critical to stabilizing the territory and enabling a transition to Palestinian administration under the NCAG.
The vote does not authorize immediate deployment. Any entry of International Stabilization Force personnel will still require the specific approval of the prime minister, the defense minister, and the foreign minister, and Israel will continue holding the Yellow Line perimeter with no further withdrawal until Hamas is fully disarmed, according to The Times of Israel, which reported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against the measure while Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar voted in favor.
Participation is also restricted from the outset. The cabinet decided that only countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel and do not act against it in international forums could join the mission, according to Xinhua. That standard sits uneasily with Indonesia’s expected role as a leading troop contributor, since Jakarta has never established diplomatic ties with Israel and has said it will not do so before Palestinian statehood, per INSS analysis.
The first practical test of the framework will be a pilot project in Rafah, expected to launch within the next few months, where displaced Palestinians will undergo strict security screening before entering temporary housing built under the Board of Peace’s plan, The Jerusalem Post reported.
