Overview
- Kosovo formally signed a Participating Country Agreement with the Board of Peace on Monday, September 7, joining the International Stabilisation Force for Gaza.
- The Board of Peace says Kosovo Security Force personnel have been involved since spring 2026 in planning, logistics, civil affairs and unexploded ordnance clearing for the Gaza mission.
- Actual deployment to Gaza remains conditional on Israel, which retained authority over who enters the territory and gave only initial cabinet approval in late July, and reporting suggests movement could slow until after Israel's October election.
- Eight independent UN experts and Palestinian rights groups have called the Board and ISF illegal or a blueprint for occupation, and scholars warn Kosovar troops and officials could face legal and reputational risk if the force helps enable forced displacement or prolonged Israeli control.
- The decision has split Kosovo at home, with Prime Minister Albin Kurti framing participation as humanitarian and drawing on 1999 experience while large pro‑Palestine protests oppose the move, and Kosovo's non‑UN status and ties to US forces leave it diplomatically vulnerable.