A private American security company will take over a key checkpoint on the road to northern Gaza in the coming days as Israeli forces withdraw from the area. The company, UG Solutions, will man the checkpoint and be responsible for inspecting vehicles entering northern Gaza. Palestinians returning to the area on foot will not be inspected, according to the terms of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli forces are set to complete their withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza on Saturday, which will allow displaced residents of northern Gaza to return to their homes, or what remains of them. The corridor was constructed by Israeli forces to create a strategic road intersecting the strip, and was named after the former Israeli settlement of Netzarim in Gaza.
American security contractor Safe Reach Solutions is reportedly involved in the planning and logistics for the checkpoint. Neither company has an extensive online footprint, but Safe Reach Solutions claims to provide “planning, logistics, and strategic expertise to organizations operating in the world’s most complex environments.” Israel has considered deploying private American contractors to safeguard aid shipments in Gaza or establish humanitarian zones fully cleared of Hamas militants before, but such plans have never come to fruition. The contractor-manned checkpoint could be a key test of the viability of deploying private contractors in Gaza.
