Newsletters
King Abdullah of Jordan told the BBC that countries would reject being asked to "enforce" peace in Gaza if deployed under U.S. President Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan, signaling concern about international involvement in a potentially volatile security situation.
"What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it's peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that," said King Abdullah in an exclusive interview for BBC Panorama on Monday.
King Abdullah distinguished between the two approaches to international presence in Gaza. "Peacekeeping is that you're sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, whom Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we're running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that's not a situation that any country would like to get involved in," Abdullah said.
Under Trump's peace plan, Arab states and international partners are to commit stabilization forces that "will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza and will consult with Jordan and Egypt, who have extensive experience in this field." Hamas is to disarm and give up political control of the territory.
Jordan and Egypt have indicated willingness to train Palestinian security forces, but the distinction between peacekeeping and peace enforcement raises questions about how the Trump Gaza ceasefire plan will be implemented.
King Abdullah said he would not send Jordanian forces into Gaza because his country was "too close politically" to the situation.
More than half of Jordan's population is of Palestinian descent, and over the decades, the country has taken in 2.3 million Palestinian refugees fleeing earlier wars with Israel—the largest number in the region.
The King's comments reflect concern from the U.S. and other nations about being dragged into a continuing conflict between Hamas and Israel, or Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
1 min read
Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10, Israel has released 20 living hostages and the bodies of 16 others. The remains of 12 captives remain in the enclave.
Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The ceasefire also envisions rebuilding Gaza and establishing a new governing mechanism without Hamas. On Saturday, Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya said that his group will enter more areas in the Gaza Strip to search for the remains of Israeli hostages.
Asked if he trusted Hamas to keep its promise to give up any political role in Gaza, King Abdullah replied, "I don't know them, but those that are working extremely close to them—Qatar and Egypt—feel very, very optimistic that they will abide by that."
The king asked for President Trump's support to evacuate 2,000 seriously ill Palestinian children from Gaza. In a White House meeting with the Jordanian monarch in February, Trump called it a "beautiful gesture."
Since then, 253 children have been evacuated to Jordan. In all, more than 5,000 have been medically evacuated, most to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. More than 15,000 Gazans are still awaiting evacuation, including about 3,000 children, according to the World Health Organization.
To get children and their guardians out of the territory, they must undergo a comprehensive security check by Israel and the host countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the process as "excruciatingly slow."
The Israeli military group that oversees aid for Gaza—Cogat—insists it places "great importance" on facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza, including the evacuation of patients with "complex medical conditions."
In her interview for BBC Panorama, Jordan's Queen Rania criticized the international community for, as she put it, failing to stop the war for two years.
"You know what it's like to be a parent over the last two years? To watch your children suffering, starving, shaking in terror, and to be powerless to do anything about it, and to know that the whole world is watching and not doing anything about it. That nightmare—it's the nightmare of any parent, but that nightmare has been the daily reality for Palestinians for the last two years," the Queen said.
Queen Rania, who is of Palestinian descent, praised U.S. President Trump for his efforts to bring about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. She said he had used America's diplomatic, military, and financial support as leverage on Israel.
"To his credit, Trump was the first president in a long time to actually apply pressure on Israel. Beforehand, when they crossed lines, the US president would just maybe just say a few words of rebuke, or they would just get a slap on the wrist," she added.
"President Trump actually got Netanyahu to actually agree to a ceasefire. And I hope that he continues to be engaged in this process," Queen Rania said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Monday that Washington does not view a strike that Israel said targeted a member of a Palestinian militant group in Gaza as a violation of the U.S.-backed ceasefire.
Israel said it struck a member of the Islamic Jihad group on Saturday, accusing the individual of planning to attack Israeli troops. Islamic Jihad denied it was planning an attack.
Speaking aboard President Donald Trump's plane during a trip to Asia, Rubio said, "We don't view that as a violation of the ceasefire."
Rubio added that Israel has not surrendered its right to self-defense as part of the agreement brokered by Washington, Egypt, and Qatar.
"They have the right if there's an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that," the Secretary of State said.
The signing of the Trump ceasefire agreement saw the release of 20 living Israeli hostages from Gaza, with continuing efforts to recover the remains of the dead.
Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners who had been convicted of crimes, including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis, and about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who had been held by Israel without charge.
The Israeli military operation has killed over 68,000 people and injured more than 170,000 others since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
1 min read
