Abdelraouf Arnaout and Mohammad Sio
28 August 2026•Update: 28 August 2026
Israel is using its participation in a US-led civil-military coordination center for Gaza to penalize countries that criticize its policies, especially illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced last October that it had established the International Gaza Support Center (IGSC) in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat.
The center is tasked with coordinating stabilization efforts in Gaza, monitoring implementation of a ceasefire agreement, and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The multinational facility includes an operations floor where staff can monitor developments in Gaza in real time.
Representatives from several countries are taking part, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Britain, the US, Israel, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Greece.
Israel, however, has since begun excluding representatives of countries that oppose its policies from the center.
In April, Israel removed Spanish representatives from the facility following criticism from Madrid of its policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.
On Tuesday, Israel ordered Dutch representatives to leave the center immediately.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the decision followed a “wave of anti-Israel policy” by the Dutch government.
According to the ministry, the most recent example of this is a Dutch law banning trade in Israeli products originating from the occupied Palestinian territories and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
The law is due to take effect next month, the foreign ministry said.
Israeli media reports suggest that Tel Aviv is considering the expulsion of representatives of other countries from the center.
The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday, citing unnamed Israeli officials, that Israel is mulling the expulsion of British officials — and possibly other European representatives — from the US-led facility.
Israeli officials were considering the move “in light of Britain’s conduct in recent months,” the newspaper reported.
Britain currently has the second-largest delegation at the Kiryat Gat center after the US, while the facility’s deputy commander is British, according to the report.
An unnamed British government spokesperson was cited by the paper as saying that the UK is “committed to the implementation of the 20-Point Plan in Gaza and playing our part in improving the situation on the ground.”
“At the request of the United States and the Board of Peace, and because of that commitment to Gaza’s future, we continue to work at IGSC with the US, Israel, international partners and UN agencies in support of UNSCR 2803,” the official stated.
“Removing the UK or other partners would undermine these shared efforts,” the spokesperson added.
The newspaper also cited reports that Israel is considering the removal of German and Italian representatives from the center, but quoted an unnamed Israeli official who denied the reports.
It also reported that more than 100 former diplomats from France and Britain had signed and published an open letter last week accusing Israel of “systematically destroying Gaza and its population.”
The letter came shortly after 11 countries, including Britain and France, condemned Israeli tenders for housing units in the E1 illegal settlement project east of Jerusalem, according to the newspaper.
The countries described the E1 project as “unacceptable,” while Britain said it would prepare targeted sanctions against those involved in illegal Israeli settlement expansion.
France and Britain both recognized Palestine as an independent state last year, drawing strong Israeli criticism.
The US has not officially commented on Israel’s expulsion of representatives from the center, or reports that it is considering the removal of officials from additional countries.
Foreign representatives must obtain residency permits issued by the Israeli authorities to remain in the country.
Israel has recently stepped up illegal settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories, drawing widespread international criticism.