By Alexander Cornwell
TEL AVIV, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Several European countries are considering whether to stop sending personnel to a U.S. military-led coordination centre for Gaza, saying it has failed to increase aid flows to the war-shattered enclave or achieve political change, diplomats said.
The Civil-Military Coordination Centre was established in southern Israel in October under President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. It was tasked with monitoring the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, facilitating the entry of aid and developing post-war policies for the Palestinian territory.
Dozens of countries, including Germany, France, Britain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, sent personnel including military planners and intelligence officials to the centre as they sought to influence discussions on Gaza’s future.
But eight foreign diplomats told Reuters that officials from some European countries had not returned to the CMCC, located near the Gaza border, since the Christmas and New Year holidays. Several nations were questioning the purpose of the centre, with one Western diplomat describing it as “directionless”.
“Everybody thinks it’s a disaster, but there is no alternative,” said another Western diplomat.
The European rethink, which has not been previously reported, is the latest sign of unease among Washington’s allies as Trump pursues unorthodox foreign policies towards Gaza, Greenland and Venezuela.
Some European governments were now considering whether to reduce their CMCC presence or even to stop sending personnel altogether, the diplomats said. The diplomats declined to say which governments were reassessing their position.
The White House and U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
‘BOARD OF PEACE’
The CMCC is run by a U.S. general and also hosts both American and Israeli military personnel. Its establishment was a key element of the first phase of Trump’s ceasefire plan, which has been shaken by repeated Israeli airstrikes in Gaza against what Israel says have been Hamas attempts to carry out attacks.
As Trump pursues the next phase of his plan, including by setting up a “Board of Peace” to supervise Gaza policy, it is unclear whether the CMCC will retain any influence over policy formation or aid distribution.
The diplomats said it was also not known how the CMCC would work with the Board of Peace’s Gaza-focused bodies, including its committee of Palestinian technocrats.
Washington last week announced Trump’s plan had moved to the second phase, which would include demilitarisation and reconstruction. But there was no mention of further Israeli military withdrawals, beyond a partial pullback that has left 53% of Gaza still in Israeli hands.
In November, Reuters reported U.S. partners were concerned that Gaza could be effectively partitioned as efforts to advance Trump’s plan beyond the ceasefire stalled.
There was also no mention in Trump’s second phase announcement of the expected deployment of a multinational stabilisation force into the enclave.
Gaza’s border with Egypt has yet to reopen, although this was supposed to have happened during the plan’s first phase that took effect in October, amid repeated Israeli objections.
The diplomats said there had been no significant increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza since the truce took hold, contradicting White House assertions, despite widespread homelessness and malnutrition.
Many trucks entering Gaza were in fact carrying commercial goods, they said, and Israel remained effectively in control of Gaza’s aid policy, despite the U.S.-led CMCC being tasked with helping boost relief supplies into the enclave.
Israel bans or restricts supplies from entering Gaza on the grounds they are “dual-use”, or could be repurposed for military as well as humanitarian purposes. The diplomats said Israel has so far made no concessions on dual-use items, which include metal poles for tents to house the largely displaced population.
ISRAEL DEFENDS POLICY ON ACCESS TO GAZA
An official at COGAT, the Israeli government agency that coordinates civilian policy in Gaza, said that 45% of all trucks that have entered Gaza since the October ceasefire were commercial vehicles transporting food and other everyday goods.
The official said humanitarian trucks were prioritised, and that commercial shipments supplemented the aid effort. If additional humanitarian trucks were available, they would be allowed to enter Gaza, the official said.
The COGAT official acknowledged that Israel continues to restrict dual-use items, but said alternatives are being sourced, such as tent poles made of wood.
Beyond humanitarian aid, the eight diplomats said, CMCC personnel had drafted a number of “white papers” on Gaza on a range of topics including on reconstruction and governance but that it was unclear if they would be implemented.
It is unlikely that countries would formally leave the CMCC, in part out of fear of drawing Trump’s ire but also out of a desire to be able to ramp up their involvement in the centre if it gains relevance, the diplomats said.
There is also a concern that quitting the CMCC could give Israel greater influence over policies for post-war Gaza, they said. There are no Palestinians at the CMCC, and a European presence could help put more emphasis on Palestinian interests.
Trump’s 20-point peace plan provides no timeline or mechanism for implementation, and since the ceasefire started in October more than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Rami Ayyub and Mark Heinrich)
