Germany wants the European Union to take the lead in finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is working hard to make sure the initiative is not left solely to the United States, according to Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Steinmeier presented a five-point plan to EU leaders in Brussels on Monday, in which he outlined the role he thinks Europe should play in helping keep the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The plan calls for humanitarian action, the prevention of weapons smuggling, the opening of the border crossings, reconstruction within Gaza and the resumption of the peace process.

The paper raises the possibility that the EU could help police the Gaza-Israel crossing points.

Germany also wants to get involved on the Gaza-Egypt border. “The German Foreign Ministry sees Germany as being in a position to take a leading role in combating weapons smuggling as it already has an arrangement with Egypt,” writes Spiegel Online. “A German delegation consisting of four experts from the Interior Ministry and a representative of the Foreign Ministry is due to leave for Egypt soon, where they will explore how the country can be supported in efforts to stop weapons smuggling to Gaza via tunnels under the Egyptian border.”

On Saturday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that Britain, Germany and France have offered to send warships to the area. The three nations sent a joint letter to the Israeli and Egyptian governments offering naval support and help monitoring the border crossings into Gaza.

Watch for Europe, led by Germany, to play a bigger and bigger role in the peace process.

More and more, Israel is entrusting other nations with its defense. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (unifil) patrols its northern frontier. Now other nations are offering to get more involved in Gaza. Will the West Bank be next? For more on where Israel’s trust in other nations is leading, see our article “Trusting in Foreigners.”