The international – European system around Gaza
(B2) The European (and American) mechanism that could be put in place within the framework of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza is currently the stake of a battle, entirely diplomatic, which began between allies, both sides of the Atlantic.
A European service offer. Last Saturday Gordon Brown (United Kingdom), Angela Merkel (Germany), Nicolas Sarkozy (France) had addressed a common and identical letter to the Israelis and the Egyptians (for transmission to the authorities of Gaza) containing an offer of service to fight against the arms trafficking (for download the letter). The organization of a summit with Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh made it possible. It now remains to specify this offer and above all to obtain an agreement on both sides, from the first tracks mentioned.
A negotiation in Brussels. This is the meaning of the extraordinary meetings of the Foreign Ministers of the 27, in Brussels, in the form of two dinners: one on Wednesday evening with their Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni; the other, on Sunday, with the Jordanian, Turkish, Palestinian and Turkish ministers. The following day, Monday 23, meeting (planned for a long time) of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU. The involvement of Europeans in the peace process will be at several levels: humanitarian aid and economic support (Europe is used to it! It has been doing this for years. With each conflict, it pays the ), political negotiation and operational presence.
An issue. If the Europeans manage to impose a larger military or civilian presence in the peace process than they have in the region so far (presence - suspended since June 2007 - at the Rafah border point), they will have won the bet : impose Europe in the peace process.
The operational mechanism that could be put in place is as follows:
1. Reopening of the Rafah border point with redeployment of the European Union mission (EUBAM Rafah) reinforced and possibly extended to other border points (maritime?).
2. Maritime surveillance to prevent the smuggling of weapons - which is easier than at the land level.
- on the side of the Red Sea, this surveillance could be carried out by American ships and others (as part of one of the international task forces present on site)
- on the Mediterranean side, this surveillance could be carried out by European ships, in a system equivalent to that existing off Lebanon (Maritime Finul or Task Force 448 under European command, Euromarfor). The proximity of the maritime zones also leads one to think that the operations could be, if not joined, at least combined.
3. Ceasefire Ground Monitoring. This point remains to be negotiated. An extension of the mandate of the UN observers - the FMO (multinational force and observers), directed by the Norwegian Kjell Narve Ludvigsen - already present in the Sinai, could be studied on the Egyptian side. A reinforcement of the Egyptian forces is also under study (which has often been criticized by the Israelis who saw in it a breach of the agreements on the demilitarization of the region). On the Israeli side or on the Palestinian side, everything is to be invented: UN mandate, mandate
force, rules of engagement.
4. Technological cooperation with the supply of electronic, satellite and technical equipment, provided on the Israeli side (mainly by the Americans) and Egyptian side.
5. Force Training. The EU already has a Palestinian police training mission "Eupol" based in Ramallah. The latter, theoretically, trains the police officers of Gaza (but since the blockade of the territory by the United States and the EU, this cooperation is no longer possible in Gaza). This mission could be extended either geographically (Egyptian side) or functionally (training of border guards)
