US President Donald Trump discussed the possible inclusion of Turkey in an International Stabilization Force planned for the Gaza Strip during a meeting last week in Florida with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a source familiar with the talks told Haaretz.
The proposed force is part of a US-led effort to line up foreign countries willing to contribute troops for a security mission in Gaza, even as Israel and the United States have struggled to recruit participants.
Trump supports Turkey’s participation and believes it could make it easier for Hamas to hand over its weapons to the force, Haaretz cited the source as saying.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday that such a force would lack legitimacy without Turkish involvement and said Turkey was ready to take responsibility for “a lasting peace in Gaza.”
Israel has opposed a Turkish role, with Netanyahu previously signaling he would not accept Turkish security forces in Gaza.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Monday that his country would not send troops to Gaza as part of the plan, Reuters reported. Aliyev said he was not considering involvement in conflicts outside Azerbaijan and that his government had posed questions to the US administration about how such a mission would work.
Trump had publicly floated the idea of Turkish troops in Gaza before his Florida meeting with Netanyahu, saying he had a strong relationship with Erdoğan and would discuss it.