The United States and Israel are considering sending multinational forces to the Gaza Strip, Bloomberg reports, citing diplomatic sources.
“The United States and Israel are considering options for the future of the Gaza Strip, including the possibility of a multinational force that could include US troops if Israeli forces succeed in ousting Hamas,” the US agency said.
“A second option would be to establish a peacekeeping force, modeled after the one that oversaw the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. A third option would be to place Gaza under temporary United Nations supervision,” writes Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the talks are still at an early stage and much can change. Some US officials consider the options premature or unlikely. But Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told a Senate panel that the US is considering several options for the future of Gaza. “We cannot have a return to the status quo with Hamas controlling Gaza,” Blinken said. “We also cannot accept Israel running or controlling Gaza.”
“Between those scenarios there are a variety of possible permutations that we are looking at very carefully now, as are other countries,” he said.
A spokesman for the National Security Council told Bloomberg that “sending US troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not something that is being considered or under discussion.” The State Department, however, refused to comment on the scenarios
Israeli officials have repeatedly said they do not intend to occupy Gaza, but have also stressed that they will not allow Hamas to continue to rule.
Troops from Arab countries
Tel Aviv and Washington are also considering the possibility of temporarily giving control of Gaza to countries in the region with the support of troops from the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany.
According to Bloomberg sources, Israel considers it possible to consider sending peacekeepers to the Gaza Strip, but the idea of temporarily managing the enclave under UN auspices is considered impractical.
At the same time, the White House said it was not currently discussing sending US troops to the Gaza Strip. President Biden believes sending troops on a potentially dangerous mission could be politically dangerous, according to a source.
“US in touch with Hamas?”
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry maintained that Washington maintains contact with Hamas through Qatar, RIA Novosti reports. According to the Russian news agency, a diplomatic source in Doha said that “the United States is in contact with Hamas. They do it through Qatar.”
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