Europeans, Arabs flesh out Gaza transition ideas to weigh on Trump plan

By John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) -The United States' closest European and Arab partners met in Paris on Thursday to work out how to shape Gaza's post-war future, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but questions will quickly turn to whether that can now be made into a lasting peace.

The Paris meeting, which brought together key European and Arab foreign ministers, was seen as an opportunity to add details on core issues such as an international stabilisation force, post-war governance in Gaza and reconstruction.

"We discussed the major fields to which we intend to contribute: security, governance, reconstruction and humanitarian aid," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters after the meeting.

Without going into details, he said countries had identified contributions and other elements that they were willing to take on in post-conflict Gaza.

"We will share them with the United States so that they can integrate them," Barrot said.

The U.N. Assembly last month endorsed a declaration outlining steps towards a two-state solution, while also condemning Hamas and urging it to surrender and disarm. Parts of that have been included in the Trump plan, but European and Arab officials have warned that there are holes that need to be filled.

Officials said the aim was to work quickly side by side with Washington so that the opportunity of a ceasefire and a move to lasting peace was not lost.

"This is the best chance we have right now," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters. "But we need to work for the plan after (the war), so that it would be sustainable."

Among those attending in Paris were Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who was one of the mediators of the ceasefire, as well as the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers, whose countries played a leading role in convincing Hamas to agree the deal.

GETTING UN MANDATE FOR INTERNATIONAL FORCE

Trump's plan also calls for an international stabilisation force, and that was core to much of Thursday's discussions, including establishing a United Nations mandate for a peacekeeping force, officials said.

Diplomats said a number of countries had expressed interest in taking part, including Indonesia, which was represented on Thursday, but also Italy and Azerbaijan.

"I told all the ministers that we want to be major players —beyond security — also in reconstruction," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters.

An earlier French proposal seen by Reuters outlined a phased plan for training and equipping 10,000 Palestinian Authority security forces. The PA was driven out of Gaza by Hamas but Trump's plan hints at a future role for it.

Under the proposals, a multinational stabilisation force requiring a U.N. Security Council mandate and international financial support would be gradually deployed if a deal is reached. It would monitor a ceasefire, oversee Hamas' disarmament and support the transfer of security responsibilities to the PA.

Diplomatic sources said France and Britain have already started discussions at the United Nations on a possible mandate.

"The Americans will eventually need the Arabs and Europeans to finance, rebuild and help provide security," said one European diplomat.

(Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, William Maclean and Cynthia Osterman)