A column of smoke rises from Khan Younis. (Credit: AFP)
Israel is allegedly engaged in talks with the US and three Arab countries to set up a multinational military force with troops from Arab countries in Gaza, according to two senior Israeli officials via Axios.
The topic was raised during Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s visit to Washington last week. It is designed to improve law and order in Gaza and secure the distribution of humanitarian aid, Axios stated. The US plans to build a dock to receive international aid, only a trickle of which is currently entering the Gaza Strip.
Al Arabiya quoted the main Israeli media outlets saying that an Arab-led “peacekeeping” force made up of at least three countries is in the pipeline. These Arab countries were not named, but Israel’s Kan suggested that the proposal was drafted at the recent meeting in Egypt, with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. It involves deployment in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as part of a plan towards a two-state solution.
In support of the Israeli proposal, Gallant asked the US to provide political and material support to set up such a force, Axios reported. However, a US presence on the ground is ruled out for now.
Israeli sources quoted by Al Arabiya said that the US — which reportedly raised the issue during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s last tour — would be open to the idea, provided that Israel starts to implement a post-war plan in Gaza.
An Arab representative told Axios that a multinational force would have to be under US command and be part of a process toward a two-state solution.
The source said that the idea had been misunderstood by the Israelis, adding that Arabs do not have the intention to send troops to secure humanitarian convoys for the time being. However, they might consider sending military personnel after the war.
The Pentagon has reportedly submitted a proposal to practically fund a multinational force in post-war Gaza — or the formation of a Palestinian peacekeeping mission — according to officials at the Pentagon and Biden administration via Politico.
A senior US official told Axios that Egypt is the main country to consider this idea. Still, it would require an official invitation from the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the political context of a two-state solution.
An alternative
The idea had already been mooted a few months ago but the Israeli proposal is back on the table at a time when the international community is increasingly pressuring it to accept a ceasefire, or at least to ensure better distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip. The risk of famine in Gaza is growing, where dozens of Palestinians were killed during food aid distribution.
On March 28, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to ensure the delivery of aid, “in particular by increasing the capacity and number of land crossings and keeping them open as long as necessary.”
Given Israel’s determination to prolong the fighting and the Netanyahu government’s refusal to consider the PA’s return to the enclave (let alone a two-state solution), the likelihood of seeing a multinational force in Gaza in the short term remains low.
In this vein, it could nevertheless constitute an alternative for Tel Aviv in the longer term. As Axios noted, Israeli officials believe that an Arab “multinational force could help in establishing an alternative to Hamas rule in the enclave.”
“Such a move will build a governing body in the enclave that is not Hamas,” a senior Israeli official said quoted by Axios.
Discussions between Tel Aviv, Washington and the relevant Arab countries are likely to continue, according to Axios.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translated by Joelle El Khoury.