Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has presented a new initiative to end the war in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, proposing that Morocco and other Arab signatories to the Abraham Accords be given a role in a «future separation» of the Palestinian Authority from Israel. However, the far-right Israeli government, which rejects a two-state solution, is not expected to react to the initiative. A few days ago, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid proposed a plan to form a regional committee of Arab countries, including Morocco, to end the war in Lebanon and Gaza, stand up to Iranian ambitions, continue normalization plans with Saudi Arabia, and start negotiations with the Palestinian Authority for a «future separation» from Israel. According to the Times of Israel, Lapid criticized the extension of the war as «unnecessary, due to the prime minister's political troubles and fantasies of annexation and return to Gaza from the messianic wing». According to him, «there is no victory without diplomatic maneuvering». Lapid proposed releasing all hostages from Gaza and stopping the war for six months, during which «an Emirati, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Palestinian Authority force would enter Gaza and distribute humanitarian aid and carry out reconstruction». A five-part postwar plan A month later, Lapid wants Saudi Arabia to host a conference with Israel, the United States, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority to come up with the next five-part deal. The first part is Hezbollah's withdrawal from 9 to 10 kilometers from the border with Israel, while the second involves a civilian body overseeing governance in Gaza that includes Saudi, Egyptian, European, American, Moroccan, Emirati, and Bahraini officials. The body would be supported by a «symbolic» civilian delegation from the Palestinian Authority, which would be prohibited from receiving funds or selecting other officials. Lapid also proposed in the third part that the regional alliance would work through military or diplomatic means to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from achieving regional hegemony through its network of armed proxies. In the fourth part of Lapid's plan, Israel would deepen its relations with Saudi Arabia and the signatories of the Abraham Accords through joint professional committees dedicated to specific topics, based on the Negev Forum's regional cooperation framework. The final part of this plan is the announcement that the participants will work toward a «future separation» between Israel and the Palestinians, subject to reforms in the Palestinian Authority. Multinational postwar force in Gaza This initiative is not the first of its kind. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had previously proposed that the Gaza Strip be handed over to an Arab peacekeeping force, consisting of Morocco and other Arab countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel. In May, the Financial Times revealed that the Biden administration is encouraging Arab countries to participate in the peacekeeping force that will be deployed in Gaza once the war is over, «hoping to fill the vacuum in the Strip until a credible Palestinian security apparatus is established». According to the same source, the United States has discussed these plans with Arab countries, and Western and Arab officials said that Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco are considering the initiative, but President Joe Biden is not ready to deploy American troops to Gaza. Arab media subsequently reported that the UAE had proposed to Egypt that Arab forces made up of Morocco and other countries be deployed to the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates Gaza from Egypt, after the Israeli withdrawal. However, it remains unlikely that any of the proposals that have been suggested will be implemented, given the desire of the far-right government in Israel to annex the West Bank, resettle the Gaza Strip, and reject the two-state solution.
