The idea of sending "Arab" troops to the Gaza Strip is resurfacing again, after it was initially leaked some weeks ago and got a reluctant reaction from the parties concerned.
Now, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Ghaith sees the idea as "attractive", although the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Mousa, dismissed it as "unknown off".
Initially, the proposal was said to be a Saudi one, now it's likely to be adopted as Egypt's, if it is to be introduced through the Arab League. It is more or less like the failed proposal of Arab Media Charter that was jointly introduced to the Arab League as Saudi-Egyptian and faced rejection as it imposes more constraints on free press.
No concrete details are available about the "secretive" proposal, but leaks indicated that it involves sending 3,000 troops - mainly Egyptian - to the Gaza Strip to control it as the Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas can't do the job. Financing the forces won't be a problem as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries can cover the costs.
The last time an Arab force was sent to an Arab country - more than three decades ago - when the mainly Syrian "Arab Deterrence Forces" were sent to Lebanon to control internal fighting involving Palestinian and Lebanese militias.
At that time, the US approved it and it was financed by Saudi Arabia. The Syrian leadership, however, used it to reinforce its hegemony over Lebanon, until that was no longer tolerated and the Syrians were forced out of the country.
The case here is different; even if America and Israel like the idea of "Arab deterrence of terror", the claim is indigenous to Gaza. The rift between Fatah and Hamas, which led to the sacking of the elected government and Hamas's control of Gaza, could have been bridged if the Arab will had stood to the pressure of the Americans and Israelis. And there is no way the proposed Arab forces in Gaza could re-unite the rival Palestinian leadership.
On the contrary, such a force will reinforce the status quo among the divided Palestinians and will only benefit the occupation forces. Both Abbas and Hamas are actually doing more damage to the accumulated power of Palestinian resistance and peaceful struggle alike.
Both political factions are battling over trivial political and financial benefits at the expense of the aspirations of the Palestinian people. Arab "deterrence" will just be a replacement to Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan's power in Gaza to offset Hamas, and hence it is neither going to do any good to the cause of reconciliation among Palestinians nor strengthen their negotiating position.
An Arab effort to help Palestinians reconcile, stop their infighting and focus on their main goals is very much needed now like before, but an Arab force is not the means.
People all over the Arab world have got very bad experience with "Arab Deterrence Force", and as they see the moderate Arab states approach is not much different from the American, they would likely suspect the motive behind sending such a force. It is not a matter of "handling" Hamas and helping the Palestinian president, rather it is helping both Hamas and the president to continue weakening themselves by antagonism, rather than synergy.
Partial control
Moreover, Egypt might not benefit at all from the de facto partial control of the Gaza Strip. Strategically, this could facilitate the Israeli (and hence the American) vision of a solution to the Palestinian problem, shouldered mainly by Egypt and Jordan instead of the anticipated two-state solution in Palestine.
Gaza is an unbearable burden the Israelis were forced to get rid three years ago in a unilateral withdrawal, not because they are "humane" occupiers, but as they could not afford the price. It is not in Egypt's national security interest to shoulder this burden for the sake of Israel, or even for Abbas, whatever the Arab League decides or the financial reward would be.
The main issue is that all this is going on at different levels - Arab moderates, Israel, Hamas and Fatah - while the main price is going to be paid by ordinary Palestinians who are suffering due to the occupation as their land is being expropriated and have to undergo daily humiliation, and even killings, not only in Gaza but in Nablus, Jenin and other West Bank areas as well.
The ultimate fear is that an Arab Force in Gaza will be part of fast-tracking a deal between Israel and Palestinian leadership that ignores occupied Jerusalem, refugees, water, borders, colonies and almost everything significant.
Past experience tells us that this might not be an exaggeration, and if it happens then the Arab Deterrence Force will be a requirement in most parts of the Arab world - not only in Gaza - to control people's resistance to unjust and humiliating occupation.
Dr Ahmad Mustafa is a London-based Arab writer.
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