Prince Hassan of Jordan: the case for an international agency

Our latest web-exclusive article comes from one better-placed than most to know the intricacies of middle eastern politics and conflict: Prince Hassan of Jordan, son of King Talal and Queen Zein al-Sharaf of Jordan, brother of the late King Hussein and uncle to the present King Abdullah II. In it, Prince Hassan argues that neither Hamas, Israel nor the UN are in a position to engineer a move from the current violence towards any kind of a lasting peaceful settlement. "Survival in these harsh, but staggeringly beautiful lands," he argues, "requires cooperation over scarce resources, on the provision of employment for our youth, and on regional trade agreements. To be enduring, any meaningful peace initiative must address the region as a whole, inclusive of Iran, Israel and Turkey."

He thus proposes that all parties seriously consider the establishment of a temporary international stabilisation agency: one able to assume a temporary caretaking role and to oversee the development of provisional democratic self-governing institutions, but also able to "undertake effective peace enforcement, inclusive of decisive action against any act of terror or violence." It is a detailed and radical proposition for an alternative to the eternal round of ceasefires, one-off-summits and unilateral declarations. As ever, let us know your own thoughts below.