Turkey is not likely to be part of the 5,000-strong stabilisation force in Gaza. Israel has made it clear that it does not want Turkish troops involved.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel’s satisfaction with the countries involved in the force was important. The force is being created to avoid a security gap during the reconstruction process in Gaza. Turkey had offered to voluntarily surrender its troops, but Israel refused to do so.
Relations between Turkey and Israel are already strained. The two have differences over Syria policy, and the Israeli government considers President Recep Tayyip Erdogan close to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. However, Turkey’s withdrawal would be controversial because it is the guarantor of Trump’s 20-point ceasefire agreement and its military is considered the strongest in Muslim countries.
The force is likely to be led by Egypt.
Countries such as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates want the force to be approved by the UN Security Council, even though it will not be a UN peacekeeping force.
The force will work in coordination with the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination center (CMCC) based in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat. The centre includes a small team of British, French, Jordanian and Emirati advisers. The CMCC was inaugurated by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on Tuesday. The centre will also oversee relief efforts in Gaza, although key aid routes remain closed.
The task of the force will be to disarm Hamas and ensure the security of the interim Palestinian government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Palestinian Authority will have no role in the aftermath of the war. But on Friday, Palestinian factions agreed that a committee of independent experts would take over Gaza’s administrative responsibilities.
In another example of tensions between Turkey and Israel, Turkish aid teams sent to search for bodies in Gaza are still waiting for Israeli permission near the Egyptian border. The team consists of 81 members and is equipped with modern equipment and trained dogs.
Erdogan said Friday that the United States should put more pressure on Israel, through sanctions and arms sales, to implement the Trump plan.
Rubio said UNRWA would not be given a role in Gaza because it had become a “subsidiary of Hamas.” His remarks could lead to disagreements with European countries, the United Nations, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court said that UNRWA was an indispensable institution for the provision of aid in Gaza and did not accept Israel’s claim that UNRWA was fully under the control of Hamas.
Both the United States and Israel have created a new problem. Trump’s 20-point plan calls for the United Nations to play a role in the distribution of aid, but efforts are underway to exclude UNRWA. Now the United Nations will have to decide whether to confront the Trump administration or not.
Norway, which introduced the resolution at the United Nations that led to the ICJ’s recent opinion, said it was drafting a new resolution that would force Israel as an occupying power not to impede aid deliveries.
According to Trump’s agreement, 600 aid trucks were supposed to enter Gaza every day, but now an average of only 89 trucks are entering, or just 14 percent.
“Since the beginning of the war, there has also been a dangerous increase in violence in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967,” he said. Families are living in fear and uncertainty. The annexation of the West Bank is a blatant violation of international law, and this process must stop immediately. The future of Gaza and the West Bank is the same. “
Tom Fletcher, head of the U.N. aid agency OCHA, told the BBC: “During my recent visit to Gaza, I felt like I was travelling through the rubble of Hiroshima, Stalingrad or Dresden. “
On Friday, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and Fatah’s Hussein al-Sheikh met in Egypt. Hamas said it had received clear guarantees from the mediators that “the war is practically over”.
In a joint statement in Cairo, the two groups announced that the administration of Gaza would be handed over to a temporary Palestinian committee, made up of independent experts, working with Arab countries and international organizations to restore basic facilities.
