The former head of MI6 has proposed transferring the Gaza Strip to international control.

The former head of the British intelligence service MI6, John Sawyers, in a column for the Financial Times newspaper, proposed transferring the Gaza Strip to international control after Israel carried out a ground operation there.

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“Some kind of international administration is needed for Gaza. The UN has done this before in Namibia, Cambodia, Bosnia and East Timor. The US did it in Iraq after the failed invasion,” Sawyers wrote.

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Sawyers adds that the Gaza Strip could be taken over by a UN or Arab League mission after Israel’s operation there. Such efforts could involve Arab countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, which are acceptable to Israel and at the same time have the support of the people of Gaza, he said.

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In the case of a UN mission, a mandate from the organization’s Security Council would be required, while Russia and China would agree to such a plan only if the initiative was led by Arab states, Sawyers continues.

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According to Sawyers, Israeli security chiefs know that the goal of destroying Hamas will probably not be achieved by Israel, in part because of Iran’s support for Hamas and the difficulty of waging urban warfare.