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3. Hamas Says Open to Gaza Peacekeeping Force, But Rejects Interference in 'Internal Affairs'

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP on Friday that the Palestinian Islamist movement was open to international peacekeeping forces in Gaza, but rejected any interference in the territory's "internal affairs".

At the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" in Washington on Thursday, it was announced that a handful of countries would commit troops to a nascent International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza.

Morocco announced it was ready to send police as well as soldiers to the ISF, while the force's American commander, Major General Jasper Jeffers, said that Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Kosovo were also committing troops.

"Our position on international forces is clear," Hamas spokesman Qassem told AFP.

"We want peacekeeping forces that monitor the ceasefire, ensure its implementation, and act as a buffer between the occupation army and our people in the Gaza Strip, without interfering in Gaza's internal affairs."

The ISF aims to have 20,000 soldiers, as well as a new police force. Indonesia has said it is ready to send up to 8,000 troops.

Nickolay Mladenov, named high representative for Gaza by the United States, announced at the Board of Peace meeting the beginning of recruitment for a post-Hamas police force in Gaza.

"Training Palestinian police forces within their national framework is not a problem if it is aimed at maintaining internal security in the Strip and confronting the chaos that the occupation and its militias seek to create," Qassem added.

The Board of Peace was established after the Trump administration, with longtime mediators Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

AFP