Is the US changing course on Gaza?
As efforts to end the violence stall, Washington is courting new players in the region.
US secretary of state John Kerry launched into a shuttle diplomacy as Israel’s war on Gaza intensifies. He was earlier in Egypt and Israel but failed to strike an angreement to end the war that killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians.
On Saturday, Kerry met a number of foreign ministers in Paris, with Egypt’s top diplomat absent. That meeting did not produce any move to end the conflict in Gaza.
Later, Kerry held a separate meeting at the American Embassy with the Qatari and Turkish foreign ministers. He hailed efforts by Doha and Ankara to end the ongoing crisis.
Up to that moment, Kerry was still supportive of the ceasefire initiative presented by Egypt and rejected by Palestinian armed factions. His own initiative was rejected by Israel.
Now, Kerry seems to be turning to new regional palyers in the region for a long term settlement of the Gaza crisis.
But can Qatar and Turkey really deliver? And under what terms? And is the U.S. reviewing alliances in the Middle East?
Presenter: Mike Hanna
Guests:
Ian Black – the Middle East editor at The Guardian.
Nathan Thrall – senior analyst in the Middle East and North Africa program at the International Crisis Group.
Nadim Shehadi – associate fellow at Chatham House. Shehadi also directs a programme on the regional dimension of the Palestinian refugee issue in the Middle East.