Is America helping build a Palestinian army?

The Trump administration says it wants stability in Gaza. 

But here’s the blunt question many in Israel – and frankly many American conservatives – are asking right now: Is the United States helping build a police force in Gaza or building a pseudo-Palestinian army under the banner of “peace”? 

Here’s what we know: The U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) has officially opened applications for a new police force. It will operate all under the Board of Peace, which recently announced billions for Gaza’s reconstruction and laying out plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force. 

The NCAG posted on 𝕏 that the recruitment process “is open to qualified men and women who wish to serve in the police force.” Applicants must be Gaza residents, ages 18 to 35, with no criminal record and in good physical shape. Within hours, about 2,000 Palestinians signed up. 

“This is nothing less than insane,” says Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch. “The Palestinian people have been broadly indoctrinated into the ideology of jihad and a deep and abiding hatred of Israel. The chance that such people can be weeded out of these applicants is zero. Even worse, it doesn’t look as if any attempt is being made to do so. This is just the U.S. raising up the next army of jihadis. I was deeply ashamed of our short-sightedness and aiding of the global jihad when Obama and Biden sent ‘humanitarian aid’ to Gaza. But this is even worse.” 

The long-term goal is to train roughly 12,000 police officers. As for the moment, Ali Shaath, head of the Board of Peace-appointed NCAG, declared that 5,000 newly trained Palestinian police officers would be deployed to the area within 60 days. 

That timeline seems curious. Only “hundreds” of officers had reportedly completed training in Egypt and Jordan as of late last year. If 5,000 officers are going to be deployed into Gaza within two months, where are the rest coming from? Logic would dictate that they’re coming from inside Gaza itself. 

Reuters had previously reported that Hamas was seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into the new U.S.-backed Palestinian administration. That will obviously be a no-go with Israel who will have oversight in the process. Furthermore, the Board of Peace’s 20-point plan envisions a Gaza that will not only be governed by the NCAG but will also exclude Hamas entirely. The jury is still out on that front. 

However, as it relates to the police force currently being formed to protect Gaza, Josh Hammer, author of “Israel and Civilization,” sees a deeper issue. 

“The fundamental problem with Gaza is that it has one of the most radicalized populations on planet Earth,” Hammer told ALL ISRAEL NEWS. “Unless and until that problem is somehow solved, President Trump’s Board of Peace, while well-intentioned, will not achieve success,” Hammer said. 

In a way, it comes down to this: you can train police officers. You can hand out uniforms. But can you deradicalize a population overnight? Complicating matters further is that the line between police, militia, and armed faction has historically been thin in that area. 

One of the main individuals responsible for figuring how all of this is going to work is Nickolay Mladenov, the High Representative for Gaza. He’s the main connection point between the Board of Peace and the committee of Palestinian officials that are expected to run Gaza. 

Mladenov has said the goal is to, “ensure that all factions in Gaza are dismantled and all weapons are put under the control of one civilian authority.” Sounds great in theory. Israel will judge the reality. 

Right now, there are reports that Egypt and Jordan have been training Palestinian personnel, including some from the West Bank and those officers would reportedly be paid by the Palestinian Authority. The problem here is that Israel has long opposed reinstalling the PA into governing Gaza in some form or fashion. 

So, let me get this straight: We’re talking about training up to 12,000-armed Palestinian police officers inside one of the most volatile territories on earth, among a population that has endured war, radicalization and ongoing hostilities with Israel for decades? Good luck with that. Optimism is not the word that quickly comes to mind. More like pessimism. 

Additionally, Israel is not likely to rubber-stamp this process without deep vetting, oversight, and likely intelligence involvement. And even then, skepticism will remain.  

So, is this a bold, outside the box move toward peace or is America helping build a Palestinian army under a softer name? 

Israel and the entire world will be watching very closely.