Uganda’s parliament has approved the potential deployment of Ugandan troops to the Gaza Strip as part of the planned International Stabilisation Force (ISF) envisioned under US President Trump’s postwar plan for the enclave.
Ugandan Defence Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka told lawmakers that Trump, through emissaries, asked President Yoweri Museveni in July to consider contributing troops to the force.
“Following the invitation by His Excellency Donald Trump, the President of the Republic of Uganda is ready to deploy in the Gaza Strip the desired Uganda People’s Defence Forces contingent,” Kiwanuka said during the parliamentary debate on Thursday.
Lawmakers approved the deployment, although Kiwanuka said a status-of-forces agreement governing the mission would be signed before any troops are sent.
The vote marks the first public acknowledgement by Uganda that it is prepared to participate in the force. Last month, an Israeli official told reporters that “friendly countries,” including Uganda, could take part if the mission is established.
Trump’s Gaza framework, announced after a ceasefire agreement was reached in October, calls for a surge in humanitarian assistance, civilian governance by Palestinian technocrats, the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The proposal also envisions the ISF deploying in areas no longer under Israeli control. However, implementation has stalled, and the proposed civilian governing body – known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza – has yet to assume any role inside the enclave, despite Hamas dissolving its own civilian administration to make way for it.
Meanwhile, Israel’s energy minister, Eli Cohen, said on Saturday that Jerusalem does not support the 15-point roadmap developed by the US-backed Board of Peace “in its current form”.
"Ultimately, Hamas is a murderous terrorist organisation. We do not believe a single piece of paper that Hamas [signs],” he told Channel 14, adding that “the era of hudna [Arabic for ‘truce’ or ‘armistice’] is over”.
Uganda has extensive experience participating in international peacekeeping missions and currently has troops deployed in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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