Meshaal welcomes Egyptian foreign minister’s comment on role of international force in Gaza

Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas abroad, said on Wednesday that the comment made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty about the role of an international force in Gaza was “appropriate” and reflects a general Egyptian, Arab, and Islamic position.

His remarks came during an interview with the programme Mawazin, broadcast by Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

Meshaal began by stressing that Hamas rejects any arrangement that would give such a force “powers affecting the people of the Strip or the weapons of the resistance.”

In an earlier interview on 14 November with the Turkish channel Haber Turk, Abdelatty stressed that any international force planned for Gaza under a ceasefire agreement must be part of a peacekeeping mission that is “practical and workable”. He also underlined the need for the force to secure Palestinian approval.

READ: Khaled Meshaal outlines Hamas stance on governing Gaza, disarmament

Commenting on this, Meshaal said the Egyptian foreign minister’s statement that “the role of the international force is to keep the peace, not impose it” reflects, in his words, the wider Arab and Islamic position, as well as the view of mediators in Qatar and Turkey.

Meshaal added that some proposed texts on what is called a “stabilisation force” give it roles involving interaction with the population, which in practice means disarmament — something he said is “unacceptable”.

He explained that the role of any stabilisation force should be limited to being present on the borders to prevent clashes and to keep the peace, not impose it.

READ: Egypt calls for deploying international stabilization force along Gaza’s ‘yellow line’ to verify ceasefire