Israel has no interest in seeing Gaza handed over to another international mechanism that treats Hamas as a political inconvenience and Israel as the problem.
And so Uganda’s willingness to join the Gaza stabilization force was met in Jerusalem with some enthusiasm.
The Ugandan parliament on Thursday authorized President Yoweri Museveni’s government to prepare a military contingent for a possible deployment to the Strip, should President Donald Trump’s postwar framework move forward. A formal status-of-forces agreement would still be required before any Ugandan soldiers are deployed.
Unlike some of the other nations contributing to the International Stabilization Force, Kampala is not approaching this as a hostile actor looking to restrain Israel. Uganda has become one of the more openly pro-Israel countries in Africa, and that makes its potential role in Gaza very different from the usual international “peacekeeping” formula.
Earlier this year, Uganda’s military chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said that if Israel were threatened with destruction, Uganda would enter the war on Israel’s side. His remarks came amid the Iran conflict and were unusually direct at a time when many governments were either condemning Israel or hiding behind diplomatic ambiguity.
And Jerusalem took notice.
Trump’s Gaza plan depends on several difficult steps: Hamas disarmament, the creation of a technocratic Palestinian administration, humanitarian reconstruction, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from areas where security can be maintained by others.
The weak link is obvious. Who are the “others”?
Israel will not accept a force that gives Hamas breathing room, pressures the IDF to withdraw prematurely, or turns every Israeli security demand into an international dispute. Any postwar force must be capable, disciplined, and politically trustworthy.
Uganda brings real experience. Its soldiers have served in demanding missions in Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are not strangers to unstable environments or militia warfare.
None of the foreign troops waiting to be sent to Gaza would be tasked with demilitarizing the coastal enclave. Trump still believes Hamas will voluntarily hand over its weapons, and that remains the central test of whether or not the plan can successfully move forward.
But if an international force is eventually deployed, Israel will prefer countries that understand the enemy and do not arrive with built-in biases or hostility toward the Jewish state.
On that front, Uganda may be one of the few countries Israel would actually welcome in Gaza.
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