Washington’s colonial roadmap for Gaza exposed

According to the plan, Washington is preparing for a long-term division of Gaza into a so-called Green Zone—a militarily controlled area run by the Israeli regime and an international coalition, from where reconstruction would begin. The plan also refers to a Red Zone, which would be left in ruins.

Based on U.S. military planning documents obtained by The Guardian and sources familiar with the American proposal, foreign forces would initially be deployed alongside Israeli troops in eastern Gaza, with the strip divided by the current Yellow Line under Israeli control.

An American official said: “Ideally, you want to get everything done, right? But that's a wish. This will take time. It won’t be easy.”

The U.S. military plans raise serious questions about Washington’s commitment to turning last month’s declared ceasefire—promised as a step toward a lasting political agreement by Donald Trump—into a genuinely sustainable deal.

The Guardian writes that proposals for Gaza’s future are changing at breakneck speed, reflecting a chaotic and improvised approach to resolving one of the world’s most complex and intractable conflicts, and to delivering essential aid—including food and shelter—to two million Palestinians.

The U.S. official added that after weeks of promoting reconstruction in the form of fenced-off camps for small groups of Palestinians—known as Alternative Safe Communities (ASC)—those plans were abandoned this week.

He said: “This was an illustration of a concept that was discussed at a certain point in time. They’ve already moved past it.”

Humanitarian organizations, which have repeatedly expressed major concerns about the ASC model, said they had not been informed of any changes.

Without a practical plan for an international peacekeeping force, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and large-scale reconstruction, Gaza risks being plunged into limbo after two years of devastating war.

Mediators have warned of a situation that is neither war nor peace: regular Israeli attacks, entrenched occupation, zero Palestinian self-governance, and only limited rebuilding of homes and communities.

A core element of Trump’s 20-point peace plan is the creation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF). The U.S. hopes that a draft UN Security Council resolution authorizing this force will be approved soon, with detailed troop commitments to follow.

The newly revealed documents show that CENTCOM has developed plans to deploy European forces—including hundreds of British, French, and German troops—inside Gaza.

The plans include up to 1,500 British infantry soldiers with expertise in bomb disposal and military medicine, and up to 1,000 French soldiers tasked with road-clearing and security.

The U.S. is also calling for troops from Germany, the Netherlands, and Nordic countries to manage field hospitals, logistics, and intelligence.

One source described the plans as delusional, noting that after long missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, very few European leaders are willing to participate in such operations.

Human rights concerns over the U.S. plan

Independent UN experts—including Special Rapporteurs on human rights in the occupied territories—have described the proposal as a new form of occupation, replacing Israeli rule with an American-led one.

The international force would operate outside the direct control of the UN or the Palestinian people, violating the right to self-determination. This contradicts the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which called for the immediate end of Israeli occupation.

Maintaining the critical corridor for the Israeli regime inside Gaza and preserving its right to military intervention effectively extends the occupation indefinitely.

Past experience with U.S.-backed mechanisms—such as the so-called Gaza humanitarian foundation—showed that security forces operating alongside Israel repeatedly fired on starving civilians, killing hundreds, acts considered war crimes.

Meanwhile, there are growing fears that the new force could turn aid into a tool of political control and restrict the UN’s free access.