Israel barring recruits it vetted for Gaza police from leaving Strip for training
Times of Israel · LC · trust 53/100
WASHINGTON — Roughly 16,500 Palestinians have passed Israeli vetting to serve on the Board of Peace’s new Gaza police force, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is blocking them from leaving the Strip to begin training, two officials from the US-controlled panel told The Times of Israel on Tuesday.
The figure constitutes roughly five percent of the 283,000 applications submitted since February to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which is tasked with replacing Hamas in governing the Strip, under the auspices of the Board of Peace.
The Board of Peace officials said that applications were vetted by Israel and the NCAG along with countries represented at the International Gaza Support Center, a US-controlled base in southern Israel that monitors the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
“The number of applications reflects the tremendous demand among Gazans to support the NCAG in this capacity,” one of the officials said on the sidelines of the MEAD conference in Washington. “The vetting shows the seriousness that was applied over a lengthy period of time to select strong candidates without linkages to any terrorist activity.”
Still, the officials acknowledged that Israel was holding up the training of the police force key for helping to replace Hamas, even after playing a major role in vetting the candidates.
In addition to allowing the police recruits to leave Gaza, the Board of Peace is seeking assurances from Israel that those who exit will be permitted to return once they complete their training in Egypt, the officials said.
The Board of Peace has pressed Israel for months on the issue, but has yet to receive final approval.
US special envoy Jared Kushner said on Sunday that the October 27 election has made Netanyahu’s government act “a little irrational” when it comes to Gaza.
Kushner fumed at Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem last month over the premier’s opposition to the Board of Peace’s plan to disarm Hamas.
The Board of Peace took eight months to coax the terror group into agreeing to the proposal on July 30, but the effort has stalled amid Israeli opposition.
Despite his frustration with Netanyahu, Kushner told Fox News on August 17 that he expected Hamas to begin handing over its weapons in as few as 30 days.
But three diplomats from mediating countries told The Times of Israel last week that they don’t expect the disarmament proposal to hold due to fervent Israeli opposition.
The US is resigned to waiting until after the Knesset election before it renews its push to advance the Board of Peace’s disarmament plan, one of the diplomats said.
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