Gaza’s fault line is not as linear as the eye

Like many others in the Middle East, Gaza has less linearity than the eyes. At first glance, it is Israel that is supported by the United States in the rest of the world.

The United Nations Security Council debate on 18 March focused on this division. U.S. Interim Ambassador Dorothy Shea is the only representative of accusing Hamas, not Israel of breaking the ceasefire, damaging hostilities and exacerbating the already disastrous humanitarian catastrophe. Similarly, Israel and the United States alone at first glance support U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision of Gaza as a high-end waterfront property development, with most of its indigenous population not available.

The remaining members of the international community support the alternative plan for the Arab world, which calls for an end to the war, Israel’s evacuation from Gaza, the creation of temporary Palestine management in the Gaza Strip and temporary resettlement in secure areas of Gaza. Meanwhile, the territory suffering from war health was rebuilt to $53 billion.

So far, everything seems to be simple. But digging deeper, the fault line began to become blurred.

UAE – Israel Alignment

A series of durable but unconfirmed reports suggest that the United Arab Emirates may be synchronized with Israel, not with Arab brothers related to Hamas and Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not the Middle East leader who was angered last month at a meeting between senior U.S. negotiators and Hamas. This is the first time ever to have a face-to-face interaction with the group, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and a designated terrorist organization in the United States. UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed is also a staunch opponent of the Islamic group.

UAE ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, close assistant to Bin Zayed, lobbied the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the Arab Gaza plan drafted by Egypt and adopted unanimously at the Arab summit in Cairo on March 4. UAE officials complained privately that the plan did not call for disarmament of Hamas and its evacuation from Gaza. Instead of attending the meeting, Bin Zayed sent his deputy prime minister.

In February, al-Otaiba called for Trump to relocate the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza “difficulty” and “challenging”. But when asked if the UAE is developing plans for the Gaza plan, Al-Otaiba responded, despite Egypt having circulated drafts of the Arab plan: “Not yet.

Meanwhile, Emilatus, a mysterious website criticizing the UAE government, leaked claims that the UAE has failed to successfully convince South Africa to withdraw or at least weaken the Israeli genocide case against the International Court of Justice. The report cannot be independently confirmed.

The line is more blurry

In amid the more blurring of the fault line, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, is the largest shareholder in an investment company led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, with a holding rate in Israeli financial services group Phoenix. The shares invest in businesses listed by the United Nations Human Rights Commission, which is considered illegal in international law to settle in the West Bank.

In seemingly strange lines, Netanyahu shoots a political storm with Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet Security Service. He is partly part of dealing with Qatar for the BAR’s investigative prime minister staff.

Netanyahu’s former spokesman Eli Feldstein is allegedly working for a Doha-based company that recruits Israeli journalists to write the Pro-Qatar story. Two other Netanyahu staff members, Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn, allegedly helped Katar strengthen its image before hosting the 2022 World Cup football match in Gulf State.

In late March, Israeli police detained two suspects, and the case was accused of bribery, fraud, trust violation, money laundering and illegal contact with foreign agents. The suspect was not determined based on the investigation details.

The activities of the staff went against Netanyahu’s long-term efforts to undermine the reputation of Katar and undermine its mediation role. Staff encouraged Qatar to provide funding for the Hamas government in Gaza to weaken the Palestinian regime to permanentize the rift between the group and the internationally recognized Palestinian authorities based in the West Bank.

The blurred route helps Israel do what it wants with the support of the Trump administration, even if its actions violate the agreement. One such agreement is a ceasefire in Gaza, negotiated with the help of the United States, Qatar and Egypt, and accepted by Israel. The blur also strengthens Israel and the United States’ ability to blame Hamas for the collapse of the ceasefire.

Extended ceasefire

Hamas agreed to Egypt’s proposal to resume a ceasefire in Gaza as the latest efforts restored. According to the proposal, Hamas must exchange up to six Israeli hostages, with digital remains unspecified during the war. In exchange, Israeli officials will release the imprisoned Palestinians in Israel and start negotiations on the end of the war and cancel Israel’s blockade. The lockdown has prevented humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and cut off electricity supply in recent weeks.

Hamas Politburo member Bassem Naim said in a speech by Al Jazeera that the 50-day extension of the organization’s acceptance of the ceasefire depends on mediators, the United States, Qatar and Egypt, ensuring that all parties will have serious second phase negotiations to end the war and Israel’s evacuation.

The problem is that no guarantee the educator may give is unlikely to be worthy of the paper. The United States is the only country that can put pressure on Israel.

“There is no power on Earth ready to assure Hamas that if they give up their only card – the hostages of the dead and life – Israel will agree to all its obligations. Hamas understands what Trump and Netanyahu do at these stages. They will strip Hamas of the card, and that is the card left.”

((A turbulent world First published this article. )

((Lee Thompson-Kolar Edited this. )

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of fair observers.