Arab League asks for UN Peacekeepers in Gaza amid the threat faced by American doctors

Despite long-going calls for peace in Gaza, the Arab League issued, for the first time, a written statement to the UN calling for peacekeeping forces to be sent to the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Thursday's statement also urged the UN Security Council to set a time limit for the political process. Although the UN has repeatedly mentioned sending a diplomatic mission, the Arab League's question is the first time the request has been submitted formally in writing.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the secretary-general in the UN, declared that "There first has to be peace to keep." He later added, "We don't go into active combat, and parties themselves have to agree on allowing the presence of peacekeepers. We don't go in as an enemy force or an occupying force."

Despite the calls, urgencies, and statements, it isn't very likely to expect a UN peacekeeping mission in Gaza. Firstly, all peacekeeping missions have to be approved by the Council. The possibility of getting permission is relatively thin since the UN peacekeepers do not enter live battle zones. They also restrain from engagement in fighting, mainly because the United Nations does not have its army - the UN soldiers are soldiers from the UN member military. Furthermore, both sides - Hamas and Israel - would have to agree on the presence of UN troops in Gaza.

During the 33rd Arab League summit occurring at Sakhir Palace in Manama, Bahrain, the most discussed topic was the question of occupied lands of Gaza and the humanitarian tragedy occurring in the massively attacked by Israeli civilian lands. Bahrain's King Hamad opened the summit with a statement concerning the role of the Palestinian people, commenting on the "painful and unprecedented" occurrences that affect Palestinians by denying them their freedom and right to the future.

22 countries taking part in the summit signed the Manama Declaration, asking for the peacekeeping mission and calling for "international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories." The declaration charged the Israeli military with "obstruction" in the failed negotiations for a ceasefire. Furthermore, the released statement proclaimed, "We stress the need to stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip immediately, withdraw the Israeli occupation forces from all areas of the Strip [and] lift the siege imposed on it." In the further part of the declaration, Israel was blamed for the beginning of the massacre and the continuation of it, mainly due to the military aggression on civilians in Rafah and blocking the international humanitarian help, as well as being aggressive toward the volunteers.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, addressed Israel by blaming the country for "ethnic cleansing operations in Gaza by force," expanding that "Israel's allies provided it with political cover to continue the war in Gaza." According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Israel has killed at least over 35,000 people in the region. At the same time, Israeli restrictions on fuel, water, and food led to the spread of famine in the area from north to south, among dire food shortages.

Arab League members additionally "strongly condemned the attacks on commercial ships" since they "threaten freedom of navigation, international trade, and the interests of countries and peoples of the world." The mentioned remarks concerned the attacks on vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The American doctors, who are mostly part of the Palestinian American Medical Association, have been personally touched by the Rafah attack conducted by the Israeli forces. As a nurse, Monica Johnston ensured, "The U.N. have been working to try to secure a safe passage." Yet, she underscored, "We just don't know when that will be. We keep getting told tentative dates, and it keeps getting pushed back. We have a team in Cairo waiting to come and relieve us."

Although the medics from the association were supposed to leave earlier, the existing passages seemed too dangerous to follow them. Moreover, Johnston wanted to highlight the situation people in Gaza are in now.

Additionally, she explained how the medical teams are running low on supplies, particularly medicine, especially painkillers, which must be rationed. Similar uncertainty is expected with water, which supplies seem to be shrunken. Furthermore, due to the spread of dirt and bugs, people suffer from sickness and painful open wounds.

Senator Duckworth called on X (former Twitter) to Prime Minister Netanyahu about the humanitarian help. He wrote, "Aid workers and innocent civilians should always be protected. The Netanyahu admin must work to open the Rafah crossing, support evacuations, and allow much more aid."

Source: New York Times, Aljazeera, The National News