Jerusalem – Together – Four American officials announced to Politico that the administration of US President Joe Biden is considering appointing an American official to be the chief civilian advisor to a mostly Palestinian force when the war in the Gaza Strip ends. ý
This is an indication that the United States plans to participate significantly in securing the post-war agreement, as the American website says.
The sources told the site that the civilian advisor will be based in the region and will work closely with the force commander, who will be either Palestinian or from an Arab country.
She added: ‘Washington is still discussing the amount of official authority that this advisor will have, but all the officials, who requested anonymity to talk about the details of the very sensitive discussions, confirmed that this is part of a plan for the United States to play a ‘prominent’ role. In extricating Gaza from desperate chaos,’ in the words of the famous American website
The sources continued to the site:
‘Private discussions between the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department regarding the role of the advisor – which were not previously reported – show that the Biden administration expects to be at the heart of what happens to Gaza long after the weapons have calmed down. Thus, the US The United States will be partly responsible for what comes next, including improving the lives of 2.2 million Palestinians suffering in the devastated lands. þ
The officials emphasized that the advisor would never enter Gaza itself – an indication of a desire to avoid any suggestion that the United States would dictate the future of the region.
Two officials indicated that the advisor may be stationed in Sinai, and another said that he may be in Jordan.
The proposal of the advisor and the peacekeeping force in the secret administration has also been circulated for months
According to Politico: ‘The United States is already a major player in the conflict, supporting the Israeli military campaign against Hamas whi
le pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Now, during an intense planning phase, the administration is bringing together multiple partners inside and outside the United States to come together on ideas for stabilizing Gaza after the war – that is, maintaining security and avoiding an insurgency that could plunge the Strip into further turmoil.
The four officials added that the advisor’s plan is one of many scenarios that have been put forward for the “day after” scenarios, which include other scenarios focused on developing Gaza’s economy and rebuilding destroyed cities.
While many plans include some kind of peacekeeping force, discussions are still raging about its formation and the powers that will be granted to it.’
‘We’ve talked about a number of different versions of some sort of interim security force in Gaza, and we’ve talked with a lot of partners about how the United States can support that,’ a senior administration official said.
The offic
ials added that a ceasefire and the return of detainees must come first, which is difficult as negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled with no sign of resumption.
A second official stated that the Biden administration is trying to persuade Arab countries such as Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates to join the peacekeeping force, as countries in the region constantly demand that the United States have a heavy hand in Gaza’s future after the war, the official said.
Regarding what the Arab countries want from the United States, he said: ‘It will be easier to convince them to come if we are there playing a role, and we are ready to play this role.’
He noted that there is also a broad agreement between the United States, Israel, and regional actors to help form a Palestinian council that includes Palestinians from Gaza to serve as an interim governance structure.
Source: Maan News Agency