The government of Kosovo has said it will back Trump’s so-called stabilization force in the Palestinian enclave
FILE PHOTO. Soldiers of the Kosovo Army during a simulation training on February 24, 2021. © Getty Images / Ferdi Limani
The
breakaway region of Kosovo has approved sending troops to Gaza as part
of a force proposed by US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’, its
prime minister, Albin Kurti, announced on Monday.
Speaking in a televised meeting, Kurti stated that Kosovo is “ready to participate and help the people of Gaza, because we ourselves have been and are beneficiaries of international forces since 1999.”
The
Albanian-separatist state, a product of the NATO-backed war on
Yugoslavia that included the bombing of Belgrade, controversially
declared independence in 2008, despite concern from many nations about
the precedent set.
Kosovo remains unrecognized by over 90 UN
member states, including Serbia, Russia, China, India, Spain, and
Greece. Meanwhile, former Kosovo president and insurrection leader
Hashim Thaci has been accused of war crimes and is awaiting a verdict
from The Hague while facing a separate trial for obstruction of
justice.
The ‘International Stabilization Force’ (ISF), was
envisioned in a UN Security Council resolution passed last November in
support of Trump’s 20‑point plan for postwar Gaza. It has since become
part of Trump’s broader Board of Peace established in January to oversee
Gaza’s reconstruction and the implementation of the ceasefire.
The
ISF’s stated mission includes training a new Palestinian police force,
securing the borders, maintaining security, protecting humanitarian
operations, and helping demilitarize the enclave.
Several other nations, including Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and
Albania, have also committed troops to the ISF. However, Kosovo, which
only has 4,000 active military personnel, ranks the lowest among them in
terms of actual military strength, placing 139th out of 145 countries
according to Global Firepower. Kurti has not specified how many soldiers
Kosovo would commit.
Other countries, such as Egypt, Qatar, and
the UAE, have been in talks about contributing, while major Western
powers, including Germany, France, and the UK, have declined to join the
board or the force.
Russia has said it is studying an invitation
to join Trump’s Board of Peace, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has
noted that the initiative now seems irrelevant given US aggression in
the Middle East. China has declined, citing its commitment to a
UN‑centered international system.
Despite a ceasefire reached
between Hamas and Israel last October, violence in Gaza has persisted.
Israeli forces have killed at least 680 Palestinians since the truce
began, according to local health officials, raising the overall death
toll since October 2023 to more than 72,000, the majority women and
children.