PARIS- French troops, Turkish monitors, British ships, German tunnel detectors, European radar equipment — officials say all these options are being weighed as they try to cement the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The key to a solution is finding a way to choke off smuggling through tunnels under the slender border between Gaza and Egypt while opening the aboveground crossings to travel and trade. The eight-mile frontier is at the heart of secretive diplomacy across Europe and the Middle East this week.
Dozens of European monitors and experts are ready to deploy immediately, but not until Egypt — and preferably someone on Hamas' side of the border — agree.
Securing that border means it could open up again to aid and trade that have been cut off since it was closed by Egypt when Hamas took over Gaza in 2007. Opening the frontier would mean removing a key grievance that Hamas militants used to justify the frequent rocket attacks on Israel. Recent rocket attacks provoked the 23-day Israeli offensive that ended in a cease-fire last weekend.
The road to a safe border may be a long one. Potential obstacles include divisions within Europe over how robust an international border control presence should be, Western discord over how to deal with Hamas, and Egypt's resistance to a foreign military presence on its soil.
In his first presidential speech on the Mideast, President Barack Obama offered no clear policy shift, reaffirming U.S. backing of Israel's right to self-defense, while also urging continuing diplomatic efforts. He did signal more active efforts, though, by assigning former Sen. George Mitchell as a special envoy for the Mideast.
In Europe, diplomats are trying for some agreement, even temporary, that would assure Israel that Hamas will not use the cease-fire to rearm.
The diplomats will have to move fast. In the border town of Rafah, Gaza smugglers have been repairing their tunnels and bringing in food, fuel and other goods barely four days after Israel stopped its bombardment.
Smugglers estimate there were about 1,000 tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border before Israel's offensive, some used to bring in weapons and others for basic goods.
Israel wants an armed force — one that will shut down tunnels after spotting them — while the Palestinians and many in Europe do not.
Germany has offered to send experts in tunnel detection to train Egyptian authorities to shut down this activity. A four-man German team is ready to go to Egypt to determine what kind of equipment is needed, Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning said.
German officials stress that such help is not meant to undermine Egypt's control of its borders. "Germany will not take on any enforcement role," Manning said.
France, which has taken the European lead on diplomacy in Gaza, says that may not be enough and has suggested a European peacekeeping force for the region.
France is pressing other European allies and Egypt to consider an armed border force, possibly under European Union or United Nations auspices, said a French official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Neither the U.N. nor NATO is making any commitment to monitoring or peacekeeping for now.
A key hurdle is the possible embarrassment of Egypt appearing unable to patrol its borders.
Egypt may be holding out on the nature of a foreign presence on its soil as a way to negotiate for increasing its own troops in Sinai; their numbers are limited by the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. For now, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and senior officials say a foreign presence on Egyptian soil is a "red line" they are not willing to cross.
Europe is eager for a more active U.S. role, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner noting Wednesday that the Americans were absent from most major diplomatic action during the Gaza campaign. He called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to urge the immediate opening of border passages.
The U.S. promised last week to supply detection and surveillance equipment, along with logistical help and training, to monitor Gaza's land and sea borders, but it has made no commitment about border monitors or guards.
One idea is to revive and expand an EU border mission at Rafah that was suspended in 2007. About 30 unarmed EU monitors from the mission are ready to return, and the EU is mobilizing dozens more, just in case.
If all sides agree, the mission could be expanded to three other points on the Israel-Gaza border, at Erez, Kerem Shalom and Qarni, another French diplomat said, also speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
The EU monitors had no enforcement power. One thing under discussion is giving the force a stronger mandate, including possibly allowing monitors to intervene to prevent potential conflicts, the diplomat said.
France, Britain and Germany last week offered to provide technical devices to control arms smuggling through the tunnels, which could mean drones or ground-penetrating radar.
Beyond the EU, a special Turkish peacekeeping unit outside Ankara is ready to deploy to the border if needed, Turkish officials have said. But Turkey is officially insisting it is only talking for now about sending monitors, not armed peacekeepers.
Turkey enjoys, to some extent, the trust of both Israel and Hamas. It has also offered to mediate between Hamas and the moderate Palestinian movement Fatah led by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.
A Turkish official said there is an "implicit agreement" that the corridors must be reopened for trade and travel for the cease-fire to hold. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of Turkey's discussions.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also offered Britain's Royal Navy to help interdict arms shipments bound for Hamas.
Diplomats are hoping for progress Sunday when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels with their counterparts from Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority.
But the crucial question is whether Hamas would go along.
The Islamic fundamentalist group is under pressure to improve the quality of life in Gaza. It insists that because it won Palestinian elections in 2006, it should have a role monitoring the crossings.
However, the EU and the U.S. consider Hamas a terrorist organization, and it is certainly distrusted by both Israel and Egypt.
Reviving the EU mission could put EU monitors in direct contact with Hamas officials, an option no diplomat is eager to discuss. That would also mean indirect recognition of the Hamas-run authority in Gaza, until now unthinkable for the international community.
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