US Considers Arab-Led Peacekeeping Force for Gaza, Including Morocco

This inter-Arab force "would be responsible for maintaining public order in Gaza and escorting humanitarian aid convoys," said an Israeli official quoted by the Walla site. Concerned by the war between his country and the Hamas movement, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had advocated in October for the establishment of a peacekeeping force in Gaza including Morocco, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Last January, Israel announced that it was considering installing a temporary Israeli military government in Gaza that would be responsible for humanitarian needs in accordance with its post-war plan. This executive will gradually hand over control of the strip to a new Palestinian state. An international coalition of Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will have to take control of the Gaza Strip.

The coalition will be part of a regional normalization agreement. Its mission will be to establish an entity known as the New Palestinian Authority, which will be composed of people with no ties to Hamas or Fatah. The next step will be to replace the military government with a Palestinian government. Israel will maintain overall security control in Gaza throughout this period and beyond, just as it has done in the West Bank.