Gaza Herald- The White House is reportedly considering a controversial plan to recruit organized crime groups and drug-dealing gangs to form a new police force in Gaza, according to a report by The Telegraph, raising alarm over proposals that could place armed criminal elements in positions of authority over a devastated civilian population.
The proposal, which is said to have Israeli backing, would rely heavily on anti-Hamas militias that Israel has reportedly armed since October 2023. According to the report, some of these armed clans have previously been accused of looting humanitarian aid during Gaza’s famine conditions and carrying out kidnappings and killings, further deepening fears about the consequences of empowering such groups.
The Telegraph also cited reports indicating that members of at least two of the major armed groups had either fought alongside or pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, intensifying concerns about the potential destabilizing impact of incorporating such factions into a formal security structure.
The discussions come as former U.S. President Donald Trump convenes what has been described as a “Board of Peace,” aimed at securing funding and international troop commitments for a United Nations-mandated stabilization force. This force would oversee the proposed Gaza police unit and coordinate security activities with the Israeli military operating outside the territory.
According to the report, former Trump envoy Aryeh Lightstone and Jared Kushner are part of a group informally referred to as the “Hilton Club,” which is reportedly playing a central role in shaping postwar economic and security plans for Gaza. The group has allegedly been operating from luxury beachfront hotels in Tel Aviv, far from the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding inside the besieged enclave.
A spokesperson for Trump’s team told The Telegraph that planning remains ongoing and that officials are working to develop a vetting process for any future Gaza police force. The spokesperson added that Hamas must fully demilitarize before such plans can move forward. However, The Telegraph reported that U.S. officials did not deny that the approach of recruiting armed criminal elements was under consideration.
The proposal has sparked serious concerns about the future of governance and security in Gaza, where civilians continue to endure the consequences of war, displacement, and siege, while decisions about their future appear to be shaped by foreign powers and armed actors with deeply controversial records.
