How NATO could help restore peace in Gaza and the West Bank

While taking due credit for helping to broker the agreement between Israel and Hamas, President Donald Trump nevertheless said on Monday he was “not confident” the Gaza ceasefire would last. At the same time, he offered hope that, despite the destruction, the Strip can be rebuilt: “I looked at a picture of Gaza — Gaza is like a massive demolition site. That place is, it’s really, it’s got to be rebuilt in a different way.”

Speaking from his experience as a real estate developer, Trump said that Gaza is in a “phenomenal location” along the Mediterranean Sea, with the “best weather,” adding that “beautiful things could be done over there, fantastic things.” He added that he “might” help in rebuilding the Gaza Strip.

Trump is not alone on either point. There is much concern that the truce will not hold for long or, if it holds during the first phase, that it might not be renewed. But there is also hope that peace will eventually stick and the rebuilding can begin.

Israeli extremists, including some in the Netanyahu government, are opposed to the deal and are determined to undermine it. Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Jewish Power party this week resigned as national security minister, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to do the same if Benjamin Netanyahu does not break the ceasefire once the initial 42-day phase is complete. The latter claimed on Monday that he had “received a commitment from Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel will return to the battlefield to eliminate Hamas and eradicate this threat once and for all.”

Netanyahu is also a reluctant participant and he may try to find pretexts to stop implementing the deal and return to fighting. He said on Sunday that “both President Trump and President (Joe) Biden gave full backing to Israel’s right to return to fighting, if Israel comes to the conclusion that negotiations on Phase B are futile.”

Probably the most consequential phase will be the next. If it comes into effect, it will see the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza. Talks for that phase are set to start on Feb. 4, but given the extremists’ push against the deal, the talks’ outcome may be in doubt.

Two key issues are the need to fill the vacuum when Israel withdraws from Gaza, as foreseen in the deal, and the lack of trust between Israel and Hamas. The Gulf Cooperation Council has supported the call for an international force to be deployed in Gaza. It has also called for the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, so that it can be responsible for security in the Strip.

But the PA cannot do it alone. It needs a partner that has the muscle and credibility to do the job. NATO could fit that description.

NATO has been working to expand its engagement in the Middle East. In 2004, it launched the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative to partner with GCC countries on political coordination, security training and capacity building. In 2017, a regional center for that purpose was set up in Kuwait. Last July, NATO’s secretary-general designated Spanish diplomat Javier Colomina as special representative to lead the alliance’s engagement and cooperation with the region. The organization also announced that it would establish its first ever liaison office in the Middle East in Amman, Jordan, to focus on “reinforcing cooperation between NATO and Middle East and North Africa countries.”

NATO could achieve these goals by joining the global consensus on bringing peace to the Middle East. On Gaza, the deal struck last week was the embodiment of several months of diplomacy, given a final and effective push by the new administration in Washington, even before its official start. The deal is based on UN Security Council Resolution 2735, which was passed last June but took seven months to implement. That achievement could be cut short if the international community does not stand by it and provide the support it needs. NATO could be part of that support mechanism by providing a force to replace Israeli forces and prepare the Gaza Strip for restabilization, recovery, rebuilding and reunification with the West Bank.

The West Bank has witnessed, over the past days and months, an intensification of attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and an increase in settlement activity, home demolitions and evictions of Palestinian families.

At the same time as these threats against Palestinians are taking place in the West Bank, the global consensus on resolving the conflict is solidifying, including total rejection of settler violence and unilateral actions taken by Israel in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. That consensus also includes support for the implementation of UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, meaning the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

Last September, Saudi Arabia, together with Norway and the EU, launched the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. In November, Riyadh hosted the first meeting of the new alliance, attended by more than 90 countries and organizations, including close allies of Israel. The second and third meetings of the alliance were held in Brussels in November and in Oslo last week, respectively. The meetings discussed the political and economic building blocks of the process. Strengthening the PA is part of this consensus, because this is essential to enable it to carry out the duties of the state and provide basic services. Introducing economic and political reforms will help in the smooth functioning of the state and will encourage donors and investors to commit funds.

However, as in Gaza, any political agreement will need security arrangements, including the presence of an international force to separate the two parties and help the PA govern. It has to address the concerns of both sides, including Israel’s security and the full enfranchisement of the Palestinians.

International support for this plan is crucial to provide the incentives and the discipline, or carrots and sticks, which are needed to make it work.

The PA needs a partner that has the muscle and credibility to do the job. NATO could fit that description.

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

In both Gaza and the West Bank, NATO’s support would be extremely useful. It can provide an independent force to separate the parties, provide training for the Palestinian security forces and help the PA exercise full control over its territory and decommission armed groups or bring them under government authority. NATO can provide the security assurances that are needed to encourage investors and donors to help both Gaza and the West Bank. Trump’s dream of rebuilding Gaza will need security assurances. The promise of shared prosperity between the countries of the region if peace is restored will also need security arrangements if it is to be realized.

NATO could help provide those security assurances. It will be on the right side of history if it does. NATO has done it before, when it helped Kosovo achieve its independence and prepare it for statehood. NATO’s success would end speculation about the organization’s relevance, which the new administration in Washington appears to question.

• Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent the GCC. X: @abuhamad1