US asked Yemen to join international Gaza force

AFP | Dubai

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The United States has approached Yemen about joining an international force to be deployed in Gaza as part of President Donald Trump’s peace plan, five Yemeni government sources, including top officials, told AFP.

The UN greenlit Trump’s peace plan this week, but its realisation faces major hurdles, with Arab and Muslim nations hesitant to participate in the new International Stabilisation Force (ISF) that could end up fighting Palestinian militants.

The Yemeni government is yet to make a decision, the sources, including a top Yemeni diplomat, a military official and an official from the Presidential Leadership Council, said.

They all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Another source at the presidential council and the Yemeni diplomat said any contribution to the force would be largely symbolic.

“If we do participate, it will be just a few officers or soldiers in the operations room and the contacts room for logistical purposes. They will not be involved in other operations under this scheme,” the diplomat said.

Asked about the request, a US State Department spokesperson told AFP “we’re not going to detail private diplomatic conversations”.

They added that Trump himself had said “there will be many exciting announcements in the coming weeks”.

Yemen’s internationally-recognised government is largely fractured and weakened having been kicked out of the capital Sanaa by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in 2014, who now control most of Yemen’s population centres.

‘We can’t say no’

A senior military official said Yemen’s “participation in the international force has been discussed with the Americans, but we have not yet received an official request” to join the force.

Asked about Yemen’s incentives to join the force, the diplomat told AFP: “The issue is we cannot say no”.