Ethiopian troops to Gaza?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed earlier this week to contribute troops to the fledgling International Security Force for Gaza, two Western diplomats familiar with the situation tell The Times of Israel.

US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for an international force to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Palestinian territory, decimated by over two years of war.

Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarize Gaza’s Hamas terror group, and Trump has had trouble filling the ranks of the force, even in the planning stages.

Ethiopia, a major contributor to international peacekeeping missions in Africa, is seen by US officials as a potential partner, but Addis Ababa has so far offered no public indication of whether it is willing to take part.