THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2024 77 The Sinai Peninsula. In 2024 the MFO will have completed 1,000 verification missions and performed countless observation missions through the Strait of Tiran and all four treaty zones. Its ability to engage to ensure maintenance of the Treaty of Peace agreed to by Egypt and Israel in 1979 will also be tested to the maximum. b The framework for the Treaty of Peace was laid out in 1978 as part of the Camp David Accords. Negotiations between U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egypt’s President Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin took two weeks to complete. The treaty was finally signed in 1979, establishing the number of soldiers, tanks, and other pieces of military equipment allowed in each treaty zone. The protocol specified the leadership and structure of the MFO. U.S. citizens hold several powerful leadership positions—including MFO director general (DG) and the deputy DG of Cairo and Tel Aviv, respectively. These are former U.S. government officials dedicated to Middle Eastern peace. Since the MFO is an independent international institution, these U.S. citizens work directly for the Force, based on the 1981 Protocol. The U.S. provides about one-third of the organization’s funding and roughly 500 troops. Members of the important civilian observer unit tasked with navigating the that has endured through ups and downs over the years as a kind of anchor of stability in the Middle East. Broadening the scope for stability, Jordan normalized ties with Israel in 1994; and in 2020, as part of the U.S.- brokered Abraham Accords, the UAE became the third Arab nation to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, and three more followed. While the Oct. 7 Hamas attack thoroughly upended Israel’s defense and security assumptions, some commentators suggest that Tel Aviv now has “the necessity and opportunity to evolve in the direction of a multilateral security framework,” and away from selfsufficiency and sovereignty in decision-making. This approach can be traced in part to the establishment of the MFO. The MFO, of course, is not involved in enforcing a cease-fire; it is dedicated to enforcing a treaty agreed to by both sides. Though a formal resolution of the core IsraelPalestine conflict will be difficult to achieve, the existence and activity of the MFO in the meantime surely tip the scales in favor of stability and solutions. I am proud to be a member. n As the Israel-Hamas conflict rages, I can’t help thinking that the MFO has an important role in finding a solution. Sinai Peninsula on treaty observation missions are Americans, usually retired military service members and including secondees from the State Department Civil and Foreign Service ranks. Besides verification missions, the U.S. role consists of frequent military training exercises and relationship-building through cultural and diplomatic ties. The MFO helped build and continues to facilitate a practical relationship between Egyptian and Israeli leaders U.S. CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
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