Photo Credit: Ali Hassan/Flash90
Gaza Arabs make their way back to the northern Gaza Strip via Salah al-Din Road, January 28, 2025.

According to a Reuters report last week, UG Solutions, a US security firm headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, is recruiting just under 100 former American special forces personnel to operate a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce. Reuters cited a company recruiting email offering hired veterans a daily rate starting at $1,100, along with a $10,000 advance.

The American mercenaries will man the Netzarim corridor, separating the southern Gaza Strip from the north. The checkpoints of the private security companies have already been set up to ensure that the human swarm of Gazans pushing to return home do not smuggle weapons and explosives in the service of Hamas.

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However, according to a report in Makor Rishon Saturday night, the truce agreement specifies that the thousands of returnees on foot won’t be checked at all, only cars will be checked at the checkpoints along the Netzarim corridor, by private security companies.

The Israeli government has been stingy with details about those companies and the inspection mechanism, such as who is behind those companies and who is funding them.

The 96 recruits working for UG Solutions are joined by an Egyptian company about which no details are available. The assumption is that this company is a front for Egyptian intelligence. Its mission is, supposedly, to assist the American security guards in communicating with the locals.

This week, people wearing black vests and coats with the “Egyptian-Qatari Committee” logo embroidered in Arabic were seen around the checkpoints. The Prime Minister’s Office said that these are “ushers.”

At the same time, “local Gazans not affiliated with Hamas” are also employed. They earn much less, but in Gazan terms, they are very lucky folks. One can only guess who is behind the selection process of those lucky Gazans “not affiliated with Hamas.” The name Fatah comes to mind (the faction that controls the terror-supporting Palestinian Authority).

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An Israeli security expert told Makor Rishon that this process is a ruse. Vehicles are supposed to be inspected for weapons and explosives, but given that they are packed with pallets and overflowing with equipment, a thorough check in just a few minutes is unrealistic. According to the agreement, only the vehicle itself is inspected—not the passengers. Even if a Hamas member or another suspect is inside, security personnel are required to let them pass.

With this little impact on real security, what’s the intended purpose of the checkpoints? These private companies are meant to serve as the foundation for an international Arab governing body that will take control of Gaza on the day after the war.

It has already been determined that upon the arrival of Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s regional envoy, he will make another high-profile visit to Gaza, the Netzarim corridor, and the Philadelphi corridor. Security measures in Gaza are being put in place for his benefit. The goal is to ensure a smooth transition from the first phase to the second, with the hope that, over time, the illusion will become reality.

Beyond the fact that this amounts to outright deception, conducted with the support of Netanyahu’s cabinet, what should truly concern Israelis is Qatar’s role in funding the security for this façade. Given the past controversy over Qatari cash payments to Hamas, there is reason to worry that Qatar is now the primary financier of an entity poised to evolve into the governing authority in Gaza.


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David writes news at JewishPress.com.