Board of Peace focuses on International Stabilization Force for Gaza

The Board of Peace, the body overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition, announced on September 7 that it had held a ceremony in Pristina as part of the signing of a Participating Country Agreement with Kosovo. The board, established as part of the US- and UN-backed peace plan for the territory, has focused on bringing countries together for the plan’s International Stabilization Force (ISF). Kosovo is one of the countries that has agreed to take part. The Board of Peace said that “Kosovo will provide critical support for the mission of advancing President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan in Gaza.” Kosovo Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci and the commander of the Kosovo Security Force, Lt. Gen. Bashkim Jashari, took part in the ceremony. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the commander of the ISF, also participated in the event. In a statement, the board said efforts continue to advance toward implementing the agreement that began last October. As part of that deal, Hamas is supposed to disarm, and Gaza is supposed to be governed by a Palestinian technocratic committee. However, the process has moved slowly, and contributions to the ISF have also been minimal. The board noted that the Kosovo Security Force has been involved since the spring of 2026, “leading planning across logistics, civil affairs, and unexploded ordnance clearing operations.” On September 8, the Board of Peace said that Maj. Gen. Jeffers met with Albanian Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha and Defense Minister Ermal Nufi to “discuss Albania’s future contributions to the force,” adding, “Albania will be a critical part of the mission.” Kosovo and Albania have both been committed to the Gaza peace plan. In April, Kosovo sent a team to Israel to evaluate a future deployment in Gaza. At the time, the Kosovo personnel were photographed alongside Albanian military personnel. The ISF was initially envisioned to have as many as 20,000 troops from several countries. In addition to Kosovo and Albania, Morocco signed a Participating Country Agreement with the ISF in mid-July. In late July, Israel’s cabinet gave initial approval for the ISF to be deployed to Gaza. In August, the Board of Peace was focused on preparations for what comes next in the territory. High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov told the UN Security Council on August 26 that Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza had agreed to disarm. “We now have the opportunity to dramatically improve life in a sustainable way for Palestinians in Gaza; to provide durable security for Israelis; and to move from a conflict that has destabilized the region to an environment that offers peace, prosperity and economic opportunity for the entire Middle East,” Mladenov said. Reports in Israeli media assert that there won’t be substantial progress in Gaza until after the Israeli elections in late October. “The Board of Peace does not currently have leverage to influence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of next month’s Knesset election, an official from the US-controlled panel overseeing the postwar management of Gaza told The Times of Israel on Wednesday,” The Times of Israel reported on September 9. Israel’s Ynet also reported that plans for the ISF, which it said could number 2,500 personnel, will likely slow pending the election. High Representative Mladenov also said that he was concerned about progress in Gaza. “I would say that if Gaza continues the way it is now, or does not move into implementing … the plan that we have under the comprehensive plan, the two-state solution will become practically impossible,” he said at an event in the UAE, according to a September 7 report at The New Arab. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued operations against terrorists in Gaza. On September 11, the IDF said it eliminated the head of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. The IDF also said it eliminated the head of a sniper cell in Rafah in southern Gaza. The Israeli military has been conducting daily operations in Gaza against Hamas and other groups. Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).