Gaza's drawing board

President Donald Trump's 20-point plan aimed at ensuring peaceful transition in Gaza along with demilitarisation and nation-building has entered its execution phase. The invitation extended to around 60 countries, including Pakistan, to serve on the 'Peace Council' is apparently a broad-based mechanism to manage the Israeli aggression that obliterated Gaza's post-war transition. Nonetheless, there are questions that warrant answers such as how and who will disarm Hamas, and to what extent the Jewish state will be restricted from going over the brink. The key to success, thus, will be in the mandate and nomenclature of operations that this high-profile council will oversee to bring peace into one of the most volatile zones of the Middle East.

The fact that Gaza is to be governed by a Palestinian technocratic administration, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, is a welcome development. However, the who's who at the 'Board of Peace', including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ex-British PM Tony Blair and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, along with special nominees from the White House, makes it an executive club of decision-making. This is where the entire edifice is fraught with consequences. Thus it has to be assured that no bias is exercised against the stateless Palestinians, and the fruition of such an activity should be the logical creation of an independent State of Palestine.

The fine-print of the International Stabilisation Force needs to be made public. Will the armed forces from other countries be put under Israeli jurisdiction, or not, necessitates some clarification to make it impartial and result-oriented. Similarly, the contention that 'comprehensive demilitarization' will be carried out is quite ambiguous until and unless Israeli forces' future role in Gaza is defined.

Pakistan's clarity is on the mark as it has stated that it will be engaged in efforts for peace and security in Gaza, along with humanitarian aid and reconstruction. The drawing board, ironed out after tricky deliberations, can be a win-win equation if the UN comes to spearhead it, and the Palestinian statehood remains its cornerstone.