Jordan is keeping “very significant” quantities of arms that the US is using to train Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, which Israel is refusing to allow back into the occupied West Bank, multiple people briefed on the matter, including a US official, told Middle East Eye.
The US and its partners use Jordan to conduct ‘live fire’ exercises for PA security forces, usually for around one week, following six weeks of training in Jericho in the occupied West Bank. The training has accelerated in recent months with the intention to send security forces to Gaza with a focus on “counterterrorism”.
The training could increase with officials sounding an optimistic note on a ceasefire in Gaza.
US, Arab, Turkish and Israeli mediators are huddling in Egypt’s resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to hammer out a deal. Concurrently, diplomats are meeting in Paris this week to discuss the framework for the deployment of international forces to Gaza. US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he may be travelling to the region on Saturday.
Trump’s 20-point peace plan calls for Jordan and Egypt to play leading roles in training Palestinian security forces. Egypt is also in talks with the US about participating in a wider “international stabilisation force” among other Arab and Muslim countries.
