Day by day, the tantalising possibility of the beginning of enduring peace in the Middle East grows firmer. As everyone but the legacy media and the political left fete US President Donald Trump for achieving what’s eluded the supposed ‘adults in the room’ for decades, the fact remains that it could all go pear-shaped at any minute. But the prospects of a lasting deal are firming.
Sceptics point to the fact that Hamas is refusing to lay down arms, let alone surrender. But the signs are clear that the increasingly isolated terrorist group is clinging to power by its fingernails. Its shocking public executions of its own people look very much like desperation rather than assertiveness.
At least one other obstacle is fast being resolved: how post-war Gaza will be run until it’s de-Hamasified to be trusted on its own (likely a multi-decade project).
Planning has begun for an international force to go into Gaza to stabilize security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US advisers said on Wednesday.
One of the top requirements of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan was formation of a US-backed stabilization force. The United States has agreed to provide up to 200 troops to support the force without being deployed in Gaza itself.
But the US, especially the Trump administration, aren’t exactly keen to mire themselves in another ‘nation-building’ war, à la Afghanistan and Iraq. Most likely the US troops will fill advisory, command and logistical roles.
The advisers said there were up to two dozen US troops in the region to help set up the operation, serving in a “coordination, oversight” role […]
“Right now what we’re looking to accomplish is just a basic stabilization of the situation. The international stabilization force is starting to be constructed,” one adviser said.
Rather than have Israel foot the military role alone – something that will only continue to inflame tensions – Trump is building a coalition of Muslim states.
The officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the 200 would be the core of a task force that would include representatives from Egypt’s military, Qatar, Turkey and probably the United Arab Emirates.
The officials said the US troops’ exact location had yet to be decided. But they would develop a joint control center and integrate other security forces that will work in Gaza to coordinate with Israeli forces to avoid clashes.
“No US troops are intended to go into Gaza,” said one of the officials.
The officials said it is hoped the Gaza deal, once set into motion, will cool tensions in the region and create conditions for negotiations on more normalization deals between Israel and Arab nations.
US President Donald Trump in his first term brokered what are known as the Abraham Accords, normalization deals between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan.
The Abraham Accords were the signature foreign policy achievement of Trump’s first term, an unprecedented achievement that paved the road to overturning half a century of Arab hostility to Israel’s existence. Indeed, the accords set the stage for the current Gaza peace deal, which wouldn’t have happened without the co-operation of Israel’s Arab neighbours.
To further solidify his singular achievement, Trump is on the cusp of expanding the accords to the largest and most influential nations in the Muslim world.
An official pointed to a range of countries that could be next in line for normalization. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity to get back to work on Saudi-Israel normalization, and on Indonesia-Israel,” the official said. “We were talking with Mauritania last time. You’ve got Algeria, Syria, Lebanon. There’s a whole host of countries – and now there are more formal relations with Qatar. We’re going to start that trilateral mechanism very soon” […]
Saudi Arabia has long insisted that normalization with Israel must be tied to tangible progress toward Palestinian statehood – though that condition has never been clearly defined. The kingdom is also seeking a formal US defense assurance as part of any broader regional deal.
If Trump pulls all this off, he will be remembered as the most consequential American president in decades.
The legacy media meltdowns will be glorious.
