The day the war in Gaza ends seems like a novel, but more and more countries are focusing on the day after and what could and should happen if and when the guns fall silent.

EU foreign ministers will discuss exactly this in Brussels tomorrow Monday, during talks with their counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emiratestogether with the Secretary General of the Arab League.

According to the BBC’s analysis, talks are being held across the Middle East and among Western countries and various plans are being drawn up for the day ahead. While many had hoped this could be achieved before the US election next November, they are now seeing that hope dissipate. Little is agreed on what should happen and when.

For three European nations who will formally recognize the state of Palestine this week – tNorway, Spain and Ireland– the focus is to reinvigorate the debate for a two-state solution. They hope that talk of a political “day after” will pave the way for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.

“The only way to peace is political” argued the Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris.

British ministers, what concerns them is how best to support the Palestinian Authority so that the country can potentially help govern the post-war Gaza. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, david cameron, told the House of Lords this week that he was lobbying Israel to stop withholding money from the Palestinian Authority.

But there are also voices from inside Israel. THE Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galland denounced Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to draw up a post-war plan.

“The ‘day after Hamas’ will only be achieved with Palestinian entities taking control of Gaza, accompanied by international actors, establishing an alternative government to Hamas rule,” he said.

THE Benny Gantz, centrist member of Israel’s three-member War Cabinet, went a step further, threatening to resign from the government unless Netanyahu agreed in a six-point plan by June 8. This included a demilitarized Gaza and the creation of a joint US, European, Arab and Palestinian administration.

The focus of these two former generals is more military than political. They fear—and wish to avoid—the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) running Gaza in the long term, which Gallant called a “dangerous course” for which Israel will pay a heavy price in “bloodshed and casualties.” The United States shares this view of Gallant.

“It is imperative not only to end the conflict in Gaza as soon as possible, but also for Israel to present a clear plan for how Gaza will be governed, secured, redeveloped,” he said.said the US Secretary of StateAnthony Blinken this week. Without it, he said, Israel would face unacceptable choices such as long military occupation and insurgency, the return of Hamas, or anarchy and lawlessness. “We believe that the Palestinians should govern themselves,” he stressed.

The The US is also putting pressure on the Arab states to agree to an international force that could create security in Gaza in the short term. The US won’t put its own troops on the ground, but it wants countries like Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to do so. However, diplomats have made it clear that this could only happen if the West recognized the state of Palestine, if there was an agreed path to a two-state solution, and if it came at the invitation of some sort of Palestinian leadership.

Some Arab states believe the US has focused too much on trying to secure an agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. They also believe the US needs to think harder about “the next day” for Israel, more closely engaging moderate voices who could win popular support for a Palestinian rule of Gaza. There is also discussion about what role could Turkey play, using its leverage over Hamas to agree some sort of post-war deal.

The BBC’s analysis concludes that ultimately, tthe main obstacle in any agreement he is benjamin netanyahu who refuses to discuss it except to categorically oppose any role for the Palestinian Authority. He fears upsetting far-right members of his government who favor a long-term Israeli occupation. Nevertheless pressure on the prime minister is increasing and one day he may finally have to choose.