On the occasion of the meeting of foreign ministers of the Muslim bloc held in Istanbul on November 3, Turkiye's foreign minister Hakan Fidan said, “Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security, the international community should support this in the best possible way – diplomatically, institutionally and economically. Nobody wants to see a new system of tutelage emerge”.
Attended by eight Arab-Muslim countries – Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE – the meeting of Arab-Islamic foreign ministers in a statement, “jointly called for urgent humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, condemned Israeli ceasefire violations, demanded Israel’s withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory and emphasised the rebuilding of Gaza”.
At the Istanbul meeting, it was also revealed that reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the PLO will yield positive results, and the UN Security Council must endorse the proposal for the International Stabilisation Force (ISF). It has been almost a month since US President Donald Trump brokered the ceasefire agreement on Gaza.
The agreement is still in its first phase following the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Once that phase is complete, Israel is supposed to withdraw its forces from Gaza, leading to the deployment of the ISF. In the meantime, humanitarian assistance for 2.3 million beleaguered Palestinians of Gaza is still not fully allowed by Israel, which is delaying the phase covering reconstruction and rebuilding of Gaza.
Despite repeated requests made by the American president to Israel to honour the peace deal, the Zionist state is not willing to comply with the ceasefire and completely withdraw its forces. Israel is also not willing to allow Turkiye to become part of the ISF and wants to obliterate Hamas totally. According to the foreign minister of Turkiye, he held talks with a Hamas delegation led by its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, in which Hamas agreed to hand over Gaza to a committee of Palestinians. Despite the goodwill gesture of Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to abandon his belligerent stance vis-e-vis Palestinians by continuing ceasefire violations and use of force against the Palestinian population in the occupied West Bank. When Hamas has complied with the Gaza ceasefire, why is Trump blaming the resistance movement and threatening to wipe out Hamas? Similar language is used by Netanyahu.
It is yet to be seen how the Arab-Muslim bloc, which met in Istanbul, can help establish peace in Gaza and how it can be a part of the ISF? The Istanbul meeting made it clear that the formation of the ISF must be based on consensus and supported by the UN Security Council, as without a mandate from the UN, the ISF will not be able to monitor the ceasefire and help establish peace in Gaza effectively. If Israel retains its forces in Gaza and continues with the violation of the ceasefire, the ISF will face a difficult situation.
According to Al Jazeera in its report, ‘Are we closer to a Gaza international peace force after Istanbul meeting?’, “There is still a fundamental lack of trust between the Arab and Islamic countries involved and Israel. This is largely a result of Israel’s actions since the ceasefire began, and its continued attacks on Gaza. Until now, Israel has largely failed to meet its end of the ceasefire deal. In addition to those killed, hundreds more have been wounded. Israel is also not allowing Palestinians in Gaza to rebuild their homes, or permitting the agreed-upon number of aid trucks to enter the besieged enclave.”
The report further states that, “the proposed stabilisation force members are essentially worried that they are being asked to send troops to Gaza when it is not certain that Israel is fully committed to the ceasefire. The international forces’ soldiers would therefore be in a situation where they are at risk of being attacked, and policing on the ground while Israel continues to bomb.” Certainly, the Arab-Muslim bloc will not take the risk to plunge itself into a violent conflict in Gaza when Israel continues with the genocide of Palestinians.
Whether the Arab-Muslim bloc will help to establish peace in Gaza needs to be analysed from three angles. First, in view of limitations faced by the Arab-Muslim bloc, namely ensuring the full flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and preventing ceasefire violations by Israel, there is a marginal likelihood of taking the Gaza peace plan to its logical conclusion. Egypt, which is a member of the Arab-Muslim bloc, is unable to open the Rafah crossing essential to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
Furthermore, despite having resources, countries like Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar have failed to put pressure on the US to prevent Israeli violation of the ceasefire agreement. Their failure to provide humanitarian assistance to the starving people of Gaza is also a case in point. Merely by passing statements, the Arab-Muslim bloc cannot establish peace in Gaza because it lacks the political will and capability to challenge the US-Israeli nexus in opposing an independent and viable Palestinian state.
Second, it is well documented that so far, no Muslim and Arab State has helped Palestinians to get statehood. Likewise, neither the Arab League nor the OIC came to the help of Palestinians when Israel, since October 7, 2023, embarked on massacring them in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Unless the Arab-Muslim world puts its own house in order, it will not be in a position to help establish peace in Gaza.
Finally, why has the UN peacekeeping force not been established to implement the Gaza peace plan? If the Istanbul meeting is calling upon the UN Security Council to endorse the ISF, why is it not calling for a UN peacekeeping force under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations? Instead of some selective countries nominated by President Donald Trump, it is the UN which should constitute a peacekeeping force mandated by its Security Council.
The writer is a meritorious professor of International Relations and a former dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi. He can be reached at: amoonishotmail.com