Palestinian Terrorists Threaten to Target International Stabilization Force
by Khaled Abu Toameh • November 20, 2025 at 5:00 am
Hamas claims it agreed only to the first phase of Trump's plan, which calls for an end to the war and the release of all the hostages – alive and deceased – within 72 hours. That was on October 9, 2025; by now, weeks have passed.
The only reason the terror groups agreed to the first phase of Trump's plan was so that the war would end and they could maintain their rule over the Gaza Strip.
The main reason the terror groups oppose the presence of international forces or an international governing body inside the Gaza Strip is evidently that they fear this coalition would obstruct their plan to pursue Jihad (holy war) against Israel. For them, the October 7 massacre was just another phase in their Jihad to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state.
The only plan the Palestinian terror groups apparently will accept is one that legitimizes their Jihad and allows them to rearm, regroup and prepare for another October 7-style attack on Israel. To that end, just this year, Iran, despite sanctions, has already managed to smuggle $1 billion to Hamas.
The last part of the PIJ statement is actually a direct threat to launch terror attacks against members of the proposed International Stabilization Force in the Gaza Strip.
That is why, even if the international troops sent to the Gaza Strip are granted a clear mandate to use force to disarm the terror groups and dismantle their military infrastructure, not one of them will use it. No one, after all, wants to get shot at, especially when, as the world has seen for years with UN forces in Lebanon, it is so much easier to look the other way, or even be rewarded for helping a terror group reconstruct its power.
Even with such a mandate, Hamas and its captive subjects in the Gaza Strip will steadfastly continue to serve as one of the largest bases for Iranian-backed Islamist terrorists in the Middle East.
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other Palestinian terror groups have rejected US-backed United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on November 17, which welcomes the establishment of a "Board of Peace" and a temporary "International Stabilization Force" in the Gaza Strip. The resolution is based on US President Donald J. Trump's 20-point peace plan for ending the war in the Gaza Strip, which erupted in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of Israel.
On that day, Hamas terrorists and their supporters murdered 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, and wounded thousands more. Another 251 were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where the remains of three hostages – two Israelis and a Thai – are still being held.
Hamas claims it agreed only to the first phase of Trump's plan, which calls for an end to the war and the release of all the hostages – alive and deceased – within 72 hours. That was on October 9, 2025; by now, weeks have passed.
