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Two academics agreed that the United States and Britain are exchanging roles in marketing the post-war plan for the Gaza Strip without the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), with a “renewed” Palestinian Authority responsible for maintaining Israel’s security.
The senior researcher at Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Dr. Liqaa Makki, said that Britain has not strayed far from Washington in supporting Israel in its war on Gaza, noting that British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is in the region to market a plan based on a temporary ceasefire for the purpose of exchanging prisoners, as well as the moral aspect. Which is exhausting Western capitals.
The British Foreign Secretary is currently on a tour in the Middle East - for the third time in less than 3 months - where he visited Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Qatar, as part of the tour that also includes Turkey.
Makki stressed - during his speech on the program “Gaza... What Next?” - that there is no difference in the American-British vision regarding the post-war period, and the distribution of roles, “which applies to the American-Israeli dispute over the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
He stressed that Cameron's arrival to the British Foreign Office - a former prime minister - was to market the idea of a demilitarized Palestinian state and the return of the "renewed" Palestinian Authority, and the exit of Hamas leaders under Arab pressure coincided with Israel's military escalation against civilians to achieve this.
He added that Cameron wants a long humanitarian truce in exchange for the exchange of “hostages” (prisoners) leading to a sustainable ceasefire, noting that during the proposed two-month period, Hamas leaders inside the country will go abroad, “which is exactly what Washington wants in a ceasefire without Hamas after the war.”
He expressed his regret at the absence of any Arab project to end the war on Gaza that would pave the way for it from the United Nations and the West, pointing out the existence of a vacuum that gave Washington the full opportunity to present itself as a humanitarian mediator, before adding, “Arab impotence and Western hypocrisy helped Israel in its war.”
"Western arrangement"
In turn, Dr. Ziad Majed, professor of political science at the American University in Paris, believes that the first task is to remove the Israeli prisoners from Gaza, stressing that this arrangement is supported by Washington, London, Berlin and a number of Western capitals.
He pointed out that Washington differs from London in that it began discussing the aftermath of the ceasefire by discussing political details with regional capitals and the Palestinian Authority, such as a demilitarized state and the buffer zone east of the Gaza Strip.
He stressed that America and Britain did not change their position much on the Gaza war, and the change that occurred was to discuss the conditions for a ceasefire “because they want to please Israel after the failure of its military campaign by presenting post-war ideas.”
He added that the proximity of Washington and London to Tel Aviv will continue, especially since their electoral factor is pressing towards this, despite their desire for the fall of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the arrival of a new leadership better than the current ruling right-wing coalition.
After a period of French President Emmanuel Macron’s bias towards Israel - says Majed - Paris now has a wider margin for maneuver and a distinction from the American and British position, as was evident in its decision not to participate in striking the Houthis in Yemen and elsewhere.
Source: Al Jazeera