Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reports that the U.S. and the European Union have been considering the deployment of some sort of UN peacekeeping force to occupy Gaza after the conflict ends. Egypt’s Al Ahram is also reporting on this. It is said to be aimed at increasing pressure on Israel to halt its air and ground invasion of the Palestinian territory.
According to Bloomberg, discussions are taking place through the UN Security Council. One option would be to expand the role of the UN Truce Supervision Organization, which was first established in 1949 to help implement armistice agreements between Palestinian Arabs and the newly-created State of Israel. They do not indicate whether this was discussed with China or Russia, whose backing would be required in any UN deployment.
