Kosovo needed international law to survive. Now it's helping Israel bypass it in Gaza

Kosovo needed international law to survive. Now it's helping Israel bypass it in Gaza After Israel’s approval, Kosovo on Monday officially signed up to US President Donald Trump’s controversial so-called Board of Peace and the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza. In a statement on X, the Board of Peace called the signing ceremony a “landmark” event that underscored “Kosovo's commitment to the ISF mission and its continued support for the strategic objectives in President Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan”.

The Board of Peace went on to say that Kosovo had deployed soldiers to Israel in early spring, far earlier than publicly stated, and that they were “leading planning across logistics, civil affairs”, as well as operating in Gaza and clearing “unexploded ordnance”. Now it's helping Israel bypass it in Gaza US President Donald Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as people in Gaza mourn a loved one and a Kosovo flag flies over soldiers amid the ruins (Middle East Eye illustration/AFP) Now it's helping Israel bypass it in Gaza Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Thu, 09/10/2026 - 11:22 Pristina's gamble on Trump and Israel carries serious moral and political risks US President Donald Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as people in Gaza mourn a loved one and a Kosovo flag flies over soldiers amid the ruins (Middle East Eye illustration/AFP) Off After Israel’s approval, Kosovo on Monday officially signed up to US President Donald Trump’s controversial so-called Board of Peace and the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza.

The Kosovo mission, however, has proved controversial in the majority-Muslim country, where people have held pro-Palestine protests and shown clear sympathy for the plight of Palestinians amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. In contrast, Kosovo’s political establishment, either out of fear or for ideological reasons, has acquiesced to demands from the Trump administration that align with Israeli interests. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); On 30 March, Kosovo’s left-leaning prime minister, Albin Kurti, said: “We are ready to participate and help the people of Gaza, because we ourselves have been and are beneficiaries of international forces since 1999.” In 1999, international forces led by the US bombed Serbia for two and a half months in an attempt to halt its ethnic cleansing of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian population.

Kurti’s equivalence between the two might prove politically useful in convincing a domestic audience that firmly opposes the genocide in Gaza. However, it may also raise eyebrows. Major General Jasper Jeffers (L), commander of the ISF, and Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari (R), commander of the Kosovo Security Force, sign the inclusion of Kosovo into the ISF on 7 September 2026 (Board of Peace/X) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle …