Morocco formalized its participation in the International Stabilization Force for Gaza through an agreement signed on July 15 at the Defense Administration headquarters in Rabat. The ceremony was led by Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, and attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, senior defense officials, and the ISF commander. While Albania, Kazakhstan and Kosovo have also agreed in principle to contribute troops, Morocco is on track to become the first to deploy forces on the ground.
Morocco's contribution will include senior armed forces officers assigned to the ISF Joint Command, personnel from the Royal Gendarmerie and General Directorate of National Security, and a military field hospital. The agreement provides "the legal framework governing the technical and operational aspects" Of Morocco's deployment.
Assessments of the deployment offer contrasting perspectives. Dina Lisnyansky, a Middle East expert at Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center, said jihadist organizations would likely seek to co-opt foreign Muslim forces rather than frame their arrival in ideological terms. "I think what exists there is essentially treating them as potential collaborators," She said, comparing the dynamic to relationships between militant groups and international forces elsewhere. She predicted Hamas would attempt to infiltrate a new Palestinian police force trained under the ISF, characterizing this outcome as certain rather than merely a concern.
Shalom Arbel, a former senior Shin Bet official, described Morocco's participation as "an important step and a step in the right direction," Aligned with longstanding Israeli and American interests in bringing Arab states into Gaza's postwar framework. He distinguished Morocco from Arab states bordering Israel, noting it has no territorial claims and describing its monarchy as deeply wary of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated movements. However, Arbel acknowledged Hamas would resist any force limiting its influence, stating that "the entire population of the Gaza Strip is Hamas" Following decades of indoctrination. He argued the real safeguard lies in denying Palestinian police heavy weaponry rather than vetting personnel.
A Kosovar contingent has already arrived in Israel and joined the ISF headquarters at the Kiryat Gat base ahead of its planned Gaza deployment. The Board of Peace stated that "Moroccan forces will support humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza and help train the Palestinian Police Force."