An end to the Gaza war? According to Middle East expert Daniel Gerlach, the Arabs are in control: “Instead of making demands, they must take responsibility.”

Criticism of Arab states

“The Arab states are the only ones that can appear credible to the population and know the situation,” Gerlach said in an interview with Radio SRF. Neither the US nor the EU would qualify for a mediation mandate as it would not be accepted by either side. “You should not leave mediation to the UN, because experience shows that the matter would become ‘everyone’s business’ and no one would feel responsible.”

Gerlach criticizes the fact that the Arab states have so far remained on the sidelines, where one can feel “anger at all levels”. “It would be an important precedent for Arab states to take responsibility and not just make demands.”

Their very anger affects politicians’ ability to think about how to realistically end the violence. “Instead, you get lost in fundamental moral debates about how much violence is justified and who started what, or you simply close your eyes completely to the bloody reality.”

Five steps to peace

Together with constitutional lawyer Naseef Naeem (49), he describes in the magazine ‘Zenith’ how Gerlach represents the first step towards the end of the war.

1. Israel accepts the mediators and agrees to a truce of several weeks, which will be used for political negotiations.

2. The Arab states, which have already made a name for themselves through their involvement in the conflict in the Middle East, are creating on an ad hoc basis a permanent, multinational Arab military and police force, the leadership of which is entrusted to a reliable, honest Arab personality. . These states include Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council as a whole.

3. In addition, a meeting of experts, respected and respected families from the Gaza Strip will be convened to appoint the head of a provisional civilian administration. In return, Israel guarantees an immediate moratorium on the construction and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and on all expropriations of Palestinian property in Jerusalem.

4. Israel guarantees that the Gaza Strip can be supplied via Egypt, the Mediterranean Sea or the air and guarantees electricity and drinking water.

5. The powers involved in the agreement – ​​including Israel – are paying money into a fund used for humanitarian aid and health care and to build vital administrative structures.

What happens next?

Even with this plan, many important questions remain unanswered. What happens to the hostages? What happens now? The authors want to leave the issue of hostages to the powers involved that best know the status of the negotiations.

Gerlach says it is still too early to make plans for the future. What is urgent is an immediate stabilization of the situation. Gerlach: “For the first step, you should not talk about the distant future or the past at this time.”