BERLIN — Berlin and Paris are pushing for the United Nations to play a key role in maintaining peace in Gaza as the next, and potentially thorniest phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan begins.
The Franco-German proposals suggest the two countries’ leaders — largely sidelined in the negotiations that led to the Gaza ceasefire deal — are attempting to exert more influence on developments in the Middle East. Despite Trump’s disdain for the U.N., experts say there’s a chance the French and German calls could gain traction if Arab countries also join the push.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in an interview Sunday that a “prerequisite” for the establishment of security in Gaza is that the U.N. play an “important role”, in establishing both a security force as well as an administrative authority in Gaza.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron echoed that statement after arriving in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where he was set to meet Arab and other European leaders to discuss the ceasefire deal. France will “work diplomatically” at U.N. headquarters in New York to “build the international framework” for a security force in Gaza, Macron said, adding: “France is ready and has begun planning.”
It’s far from clear, however, whether the Trump administration would support the U.N.’s involvement. Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan mentions no explicit role for the U.N. other than with regard to the distribution of aid. Rather, Trump’s plan calls for the creation of an “international stabilization force” involving Arab and international partners to be deployed in Gaza.
Sidelined Europeans
Experts said the French and German proposals show that European leaders, who were largely uninvolved in the negotiations leading to the cease-fire deal, are attempting to gain more say over how the deal is implemented, even if it comes primarily through their roles in the U.N.
“It’s somewhat of an attempt by the Europeans to get back into the game, because they’re actually standing pretty much on the sidelines,” said Simon Wolfgang Fuchs, a Middle East expert at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “The forces that actually have a say here are Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, which have been very heavily involved in this agreement, while Europe was not.”
The U.K. has not yet indicated whether it would back the Franco-German call for U.N. involvement. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the U.K. would “give our backing to the deployment of a ceasefire monitoring mission, an international security force, and the implementation of transitional governance arrangements in Gaza,” but did provide more specifics.
Both France and the U.K. are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council along with the U.S. Germany is seeking a seat as a non-permanent member in 2027.
But Israeli and U.S. leaders are currently highly skeptical of the United Nations. A U.N. commission, in a report released last month, found that the Israeli government had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding that Israeli officials strenuously denied. “Thank you for standing up to the lies against Israel in the United Nations,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump on Monday during the U.S. president’s visit to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
In the end, however, Trump’s heavy reliance on Arab countries to strike the ceasefire deal may force the American president to consider a role for the U.N. despite his aversion to the body. That’s because Arab nations tend to favor a role for the organization, with the Arab League previously calling for a U.N. peacekeeping force to be deployed in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“I am not convinced that the U.S. will stand in the way of a U.N. resolution if it hears clearly from the Gulf Arabs in particular that it is a necessity,” said Richard Gowan, the U.N. director of the International Crisis Group NGO. “Trump is negative towards the U.N., but he takes a pragmatic approach to the [Security] Council when he has to.”
“I doubt that the U.S. and Israelis would listen to the Europeans on this alone, but what we have seen in recent weeks is that Arab countries do have Trump’s ear over the Gaza crisis. So if the Arabs and Europeans push the idea of a resolution together, and link it to offers of troops and financing for Gaza, it could happen.”
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