(JNS) The announcement that the recently formed American-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) has launched a police recruitment drive has raised concerns about the makeup of the future policing force.
The NCAG recently said on X that it began recruiting Palestinians, while its website states applicants must be Gazan residents aged 18 to 35 with no criminal record.
According to a Reuters report, some 2,000 Palestinians signed up within hours after applications opened. The figures were presented last week at a Board of Peace summit in Washington, DC, by Trump-appointed Gaza envoy, Bulgarian diplomat Nikolay Mladenov.
US Army Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, commander of the International Stabilization Force, added that the goal is to train about 12,000 police officers.
The prospect of an armed Palestinian police force tasked with maintaining internal order raises key questions about vetting, loyalty and oversight. Two former Israeli senior defense officials offered differing perspectives on the risks and opportunities.
Meir Ben-Shabbat, head of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and Israel’s national security adviser from 2017 to 2021, told...
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