THE Sharm el-Sheikh Gaza summit, held in October, was punctuated by rhetoric about how peace had been won in the Middle East. Donald Trump was being hailed by many as a visionary peacemaker, though more critical observers were of the view that the US president’s Gaza plan was flawed, and tilted towards Israel.
Today, those fears have been confirmed, as the implementation of the Trumpian plan — which was endorsed by the UN Security Council last month — is proving quite difficult. In particular, many of the Arab and Muslim states that had backed the plan are having second thoughts about committing troops to the so-called international stabilisation force. These states, including Pakistan, have started to reconsider their commitments when confronted with the prospect of having to forcefully seize Hamas’s weapons.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was quite clear about Pakistan’s reluctance to confront and disarm Hamas during a presser on Saturday, when he said that this was “not our job”. The visiting Egyptian foreign minister further said, with reference to Gaza, that “our … mandate must be monitoring the ceasefire”.
Together with these official statements, a recent report in the Washington Post has confirmed that many Muslim states are getting cold feet about the Gaza mission, particularly confronting Hamas. Reportedly, Indonesia and Azerbaijan, two nations that could contribute troops, are reconsidering their commitments. In fact, Mr Dar publicly said that his Indonesian counterpart had “expressed his reservations” about disarming Hamas. He added that clear terms of reference were needed about the Gaza mission.
These developments reflect the fact that Muslim states — in their enthusiasm to back Mr Trump’s plan — forgot to read the fine print. Demilitarising Gaza has been a part of the plan since day one. However, Muslim states may have belatedly realised that if they were to forcibly confront Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions, this would be akin to aiding Israel. This would be a hard domestic sell even for the most pro-American Muslim states, as these governments would be seen to be aiding Tel Aviv in its bloody conquest of Gaza.
Considering the fact that many observers feel that the genocide in Gaza continues, albeit at a slower pace, no Muslim state would want to be publicly seen backing this US-Israeli endeavour. The fact is that Muslim troops should have no role in disarming Hamas or other Palestinian factions, or in enforcing Israel’s writ in Gaza.
Pakistan and other backers of the Trumpian scheme should re-examine their support for the plan. Any scheme that prioritises Israeli objectives, does not provide a concrete plan for Palestinian statehood and the end of Zionist occupation, and fails to hold Tel Aviv to account for the Gaza genocide should have no support from the Arab and Muslim world.
