Private US military contractors are already deployed at checkpoints in the occupied territories<\/p>\n
As Israel<\/a> moves to expand military operations in Gaza<\/a>, even approving plans to capture<\/a> the entire strip, it also wants to seize control<\/a> of humanitarian aid distribution there \u2014 with the help of private U.S. military contractors.<\/p>\n As reported<\/a> by the Washington Post, the contractors will be supplied by UG Solutions<\/a> and Safe Reach Solutions<\/a> \u2014 the same American contractors previously<\/a>\u00a0involved<\/a> in checkpoint and security maintenance in the Gaza Strip during the since-broken ceasefire, as Axios reported back in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s push for control of aid distribution in the Gaza Strip is a condition<\/a> for lifting its more than two-month blockade, leading Gaza toward famine<\/a>. According to its proposal, Israeli soldiers would guard<\/a> the periphery of the aid distribution hub, where about 60 trucks<\/a> of food would be allowed into the strip per day \u2014 a mere tenth<\/a> of the volume permitted during the ceasefire. Under the plan, the American military contractors would handle the aid distribution<\/a> from there. All existing soup kitchens and distribution centers would be shuttered.<\/p>\n In general, having outside private military contractors in a war zone comes with a host of legal ambiguities<\/a>. The rules governing their conduct \u2014 and the legal framework protecting them \u2014 are often poorly defined<\/a>. That these American contractors would apparently report to Israel, a foreign government, in a territory it reportedly plans to capture and occupy no less, only further muddies the waters.<\/p>\n \u201cPrivate military contractors continue to push the legal boundaries of using civilians in combat zones. The ambiguity of which jurisdiction cover these contractors \u2014 Israeli, Palestinian, U.S. \u2014 is being hidden by who is paying the contract,\u201d former Blackwater contractor Morgan Lerette, the author of Guns, Girls, and Greed: I Was a Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq<\/a>, told Responsible Statecraft.<\/p>\n \u201cAside from the danger, putting armed U.S. civilians in an active battlefield to feed locals, is reminiscent of Somalia in 1993. We can only hope it doesn\u2019t end in a similar fashion,\u201d Lerette explained, referencing the infamous \u201cBlack Hawk Down\u201d battle where clashes<\/a> between U.S. and Somali forces in a densely populated Mogadishu neighborhood lead to heavy civilian casualties<\/p>\n Speaking anonymously, a former U.S. official told NPR<\/a> that Israel attempted to roll-out a similar aid plan in Gaza during the last administration. They alleged<\/a> that the Biden administration, understanding the Israeli plan as manipulating humanitarian aid for military purposes, rejected it as a breach of international law.<\/p>\n The United Nations and some aid partners involved in Gaza rejected the latest Israeli aid plan in a joint statement<\/a> yesterday, alleging it \u201ccontravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic \u2014 as part of a military strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n “We will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,\u201d the statement read<\/a>.<\/p>\n For its part, Israel is moving full speed ahead toward complete domination of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli officials hope<\/a> Palestinians will feel compelled to leave. At the time of writing, at least 62,000 Palestinians have been killed<\/a> by Israel since October 7.<\/p>\n “We are conquering Gaza to stay \u2014 no more in-and-out. This is a war for victory, and it’s time to stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation.’ We are defeating Hamas \u2014 we will not surrender, they will surrender,\u201d Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said of Israel\u2019s current<\/a> Gaza operations.<\/p>\n UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions did not answer RS\u2019 requests for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n