Paris meeting discusses Gaza transition plans

The United States' closest European and Arab partners met in Paris yesterday 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 US President Donald Trump.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 US so that they can integrate them," Barrot said.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.Among those attending in Paris were Qatar's Prime Minister HE 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.Trump's plan also calls for an international stabilisation force, and that was core to much of yesterday's discussions, including establishing a UN mandate for a peacekeeping force, officials said.Diplomats said a number of countries had expressed interest in taking part, including Indonesia, which was represented, 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.