Countries would refuse to deploy troops to Gaza if they were asked to actively enforce peace rather than support local forces, King Abdullah of Jordan has warned in an exclusive interview with BBC Panorama.
Under President Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, Arab states and international partners are expected to commit stabilisation forces to train and support vetted Palestinian police forces. The plan also requires Hamas to disarm and relinquish political control of the territory.
However, King Abdullah expressed serious reservations about the nature of such a deployment. “What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it’s peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that,” he said.
The King drew a clear distinction between the two roles. “Peacekeeping is that you’re sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, which Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we’re running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that’s not a situation that any country would like to get involved in.”
His comments reflect broader international concern about being drawn into ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, or between Hamas and rival Palestinian factions.
King Abdullah ruled out sending Jordanian forces into Gaza, citing his country’s close political ties to the Palestinian cause. More than half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent, and the kingdom has taken in 2.3 million Palestinian refugees over decades—the largest number in the region.
When asked whether he trusted Hamas to honour its commitment to give up political power in Gaza, the King said: “I don’t know them, but those that are working extremely close to them—Qatar and Egypt—feel very, very optimistic that they will abide by that.”
He warned of dire consequences if the conflict remained unresolved. “If we don’t solve this problem, if we don’t find a future for Israelis and Palestinians and a relationship between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel, we’re doomed.”
Jordan has been actively involved in humanitarian efforts throughout the war. The King personally participated in three missions flying over Gaza to parachute aid supplies. “Looking over the back ramp was just shocking,” he said. “The devastation of that part of Gaza was just a shock to me. I’ve seen it myself, and how we, as the international community, are allowing this to happen is mind-boggling.”
The King requested President Trump’s support to evacuate 2,000 seriously ill Palestinian children from Gaza. Following a February White House meeting where Trump called it a “beautiful gesture,” 253 children have been evacuated to Jordan. Overall, more than 5,000 have been medically evacuated to various countries, but more than 15,000 Gazans still await evacuation, including approximately 3,000 children.
Queen Rania of Jordan, who is of Palestinian descent, also spoke to Panorama, criticising the international community for failing to stop the two-year conflict. However, she praised President Trump for using diplomatic, military and financial leverage to pressure Israel into accepting a ceasefire.
“To his credit, Trump was the first president in a long time to actually apply pressure on Israel,” she said. “President Trump actually got Netanyahu to actually agree to a ceasefire. And I hope that he continues to be engaged in this process.”
The Trump ceasefire agreement facilitated the release of 20 living Israeli hostages from Gaza, with continuing efforts to recover remains of the dead. Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners convicted of crimes including murder, and about 1,700 Gazans detained without charge. When asked about lasting peace, Queen Rania said hope was “not naive, but a form of defiance,” adding that Palestinians and Israelis could coexist “with the push of the international community.”
