So far, no countries have committed to troops for the International Stabilization
Force to occupy and demilitarize Gaza on Israel’s behalf
Trump-led ‘Board of Peace’ Considers ‘Expropriating’ Gaza Land, ‘Compensating Owners’
The Cradle
(November 23, 2025) — Following the passage of a UN resolution authorizing the US plan for post-war Gaza, President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” is considering ‘expropriating” land from Palestinian owners displaced from the Israeli-controlled half of the strip, Haaretz reported on 23 November.
Citing US officials and diplomats, the Israeli newspaper said the Board of Peace, headed by Trump, would be a “cornerstone” of the US plan for Gaza.
“As outlined in the United Nations Security Council resolution adopted this week, the Board of Peace will coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and facilitate Gaza’s development,” one US official said.
The US officials said that building so-called “safe communities” for Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled part of the territory is a major US priority. Israeli forces now directly occupy the eastern half of Gaza, which is separated by the “Yellow Line” from the Hamas-controlled western part along the sea.
However, US officials say those involved with the Board of Peace are discussing who will be chosen to live in the temporary communities and on what criteria. They are discussing whether Palestinians allowed to move to them will be able to leave and “what will happen to the legal owners of the land on which they are built,” Haaretz explained.
“One of the diplomats said the current US idea is to expropriate the land and compensate the owners,” the newspaper wrote.
The diplomat added that the plans are “moving forward rapidly.”
‘You don’t own Gaza’: Russia blasts US
at UNSC over Gaza peace plan
While US and international officials at the Civil-Military Coordinating Center (CMCC) in Israel are overseeing the project on the ground, the “decisions are made at the White House or in consultations between the US and Israeli governments,” the diplomat said.
The CMCC is responsible only for “providing technical solutions” for the construction of the internment-style communities.
Palestinians have long feared that Israel would make good on their plans to forcibly displace some or all of the 2 million people in Gaza and expropriate their land to ultimately build Jewish settlements.
Due to this fear, Palestinians have sought to remain in their homes, even if destroyed, and on their lands to avoid a repeat of the 1948 Nakba, despite Israel’s relentless bombing of the strip over the past two years.
If the Israeli-held half of Gaza is rebuilt, there is no assurance that Palestinians will be allowed to return. Israel could decide to enable Jewish Israeli citizens to settle in the rebuilt communities instead.
To make way for Trump’s Board of Peace, the US has begun withdrawing personnel from the CMCC. Haaretz reported that some of the 200 US soldiers originally sent to Israel have left the center, which opened in Kiryat Gat in October.
At the same time, some of Trump’s advisors are concerned that the president’s Israeli-inspired plan for Gaza may not be achievable.
Private documents obtained by POLITICO and circulating among US officials expressed concern about whether a so-called International Stabilization Force (ISF) can really be deployed.
The ISF is meant to be staffed by international troops from a coalition of nations to “keep the peace in Gaza.”
However, no countries have expressed readiness to deploy peacekeeping troops to Gaza because they would be responsible for confronting and disarming Hamas on Israel’s behalf.
On Sunday, Israel Hayom reported that Azerbaijan, a close ally of Israel, had decided it would not agree to endanger the lives of its soldiers by sending them to Gaza as part of the ISF.
Officials in Baku and other countries say they are willing for their troops to help with the reconstruction process and to maintain calm, but not to disarm Hamas or demilitarize the strip.
If no foreign troops can be found to carry out the task for Israel, Tel Aviv will be forced to “assume the mission,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.
Netanyahu explained that “it’s clear from all contacts that if there’s no external force, we’re demilitarizing.”
Netanyahu demanded that the US postpone the rehabilitation of areas of Gaza under Hamas control until the resistance movement is disarmed.
“I told the Americans that they must ensure demilitarization on the ground of Hamas, before any rehabilitation,” he stated.
However, another option is to use foreign mercenaries for at least some tasks.
UG Solutions, a US military subcontractor that guarded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites, is ramping up recruitment for a new deployment as plans advance to reopen 12 to 15 distribution locations in Gaza next month, Drop Site News reported on 19 November.
