The United Nations: UN to run Gaza's border controls (sea and air)
Opening the main gates of the prison that is Gaza will allow in a flood of humanitarian aid and assistance, and so give heart and hope to a beleaguered people.
With international agreement, the UN should gently but firmly
take the Gaza blockade out of the hands of the Israelis so that it can itself operate a humanised version of the blockade, in place of the present Israeli restrictions.
The UN would hold a international conference at which it would seek everyone's agreement to take over the running of the blockade from the Israelis. The UN version would not be called a "blockade", it could be referred to as "internationally mandated border controls", or something similar. The USA would use its authority as Israel’s main source of financial aid to ensure its cooperation
This proposed handover of responsibility for Gaza’s border controls
would offer the following advantages and benefits:
1. Humanitarian and human rights considerations would be built into the new border control regime, in a public and verifiable way. This would reassure the Palestinians.
2. Israel's legitimate security considerations would be built into the
new border control regime, in a public and verifiable way. This would reassure the Israelis.
3. US involvement in the preparations for and implementation of
this UN conference would be crucial, and would greatly improve the
image of the US in the world.
4. This handover initiative would greatly improve the image of the
UN in the world. If this isn't the kind of thing that the UN should be
doing, what is?