LONDON: Israel is refusing to allow the construction of a critical military outpost for the Board of Peace in Gaza, The Guardian reported.
The international organization, authorized last year by the UN and chaired by US President Donald Trump, issued its first construction contract for Gaza in early August.
The agreement was for Louisiana-based Arkel International to build a military outpost for 150 international troops who would serve as the vanguard for an international stabilization force in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
However, two months later Israel has yet to permit the contract to move ahead, a source told The Guardian.
Workers and trucks are being prevented from crossing into Gaza and begin work on the outpost. “Israel won’t open the border,” the source said.
The Board of Peace, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli government all declined to comment to The Guardian.
Short, rotating deployments of 150 armed troops would take place at the outpost, the source said.
These troops would be part of a larger deployment of 500 soldiers already sent from Morocco and Kosovo.
The rest of the Board of Peace’s program rests on fulfilling the Arkel contract, and Israel’s refusal to allow the company to begin work is undermining the board’s plans, the source said.
“You can’t get in without (an international stabilization force). You can’t rebuild,” they added. “There’s no security. There are no deliveries of construction equipment. You can’t even start putting utilities. You can’t start putting in basic life-support facilities.”