The US Central Command on Tuesday held a meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha, the main agenda of which was to deploy an international stabilization force (ISF) to the enclave. The military representatives of over 40 countries, including Pakistan, attended the meeting, though none of them have committed to sending troops, except Italy, which is reportedly the only country so far to have clearly committed to participating in the stability force.
However, the meeting excluded one major world power: Turkey. This, despite Ankara’s active role in the negotiations. The exclusion reportedly came at Israel’s request, and the US agreed.
According to reports, Israel has maintained a stubborn veto against Erdogan's involvement and the presence of Turkish forces in the Gaza Strip. A senior Israeli official reiterated in a conversation with Hebrew media i24NEWS that "not a single Turkish soldier will set foot in Gaza." The report added that Israel sent strong messages on this issue to American envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and President Donald Trump.
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This is despite Qatar and Turkey itself exerting coordinated pressure on the US and other countries, in an attempt to bring about Turkey's cooperation in the effort.
According to experts from the Foundation for Defence of Democracies (FDD), the disagreement over inviting Turkey to the meeting encapsulates the whole dilemma surrounding the ISF.
Edmund Fitton-Brown, senior fellow, FDD, unlike many nations that do not want to put its troops in harm’s way, Ankara is willing to deploy. “The point of this aspect of the Gaza plan is to disarm Hamas and keep technocratic administrators and independent Palestinian enforcers safe. But no nation wants to put its troops in harm’s way. Ankara, meanwhile, is willing to deploy, but for all the wrong reasons,” Fitton-Brown said.
He added that as an imperialist power seeking to assert itself in key parts of the old Ottoman Empire, it wants to be in Gaza. “But Turkey’s aggressive ambitions are directed against Israel. Ankara would not disarm Hamas but rather protect the group and ensure its continued influence,” Fitton-Brown added.
