Newsletters
A large majority of Israelis oppose the presence of Turkish forces in Gaza following the ceasefire, according to a new survey showing that 86% of respondents believe Israel should continue to reject Türkiye’s participation in any Gaza mission.
Citing a recent poll, Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 reported Thursday that 86% of respondents answered “yes” to the question, “Should Israel continue to oppose the entry of Turkish forces into Gaza?” Another 9% said “no,” while 5% said they had no opinion.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday signaled his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission to monitor ceasefire with Hamas.
Responding to a question about the idea of Turkish participation, Netanyahu said: “I have very strong opinions about that. Want to guess what they are?”
Türkiye is holding talks with other countries over its potential participation in an international Gaza peacekeeping mission, with its military “ready” if needed, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said Thursday.
“We are continuing contact with our counterparts regarding our participation in the task force to be established in Gaza,” the source said.
The task force is to operate under the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) for monitoring the ceasefire, based in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Gat. The CMCC was inaugurated Tuesday by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
“The CMCC has been established to facilitate the formation of the Gaza task force. Under this structure, an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) will be set up that will be in charge of monitoring the ceasefire and preventing conflict,” the source said.
“For now, nothing is confirmed about the level of Türkiye’s participation in such structures, but it will probably be confirmed next week,” the source added.
Asked if Turkish forces would join the mission, the source said the military “has experience from previous peace missions” and is “ready to undertake any task assigned to it... to establish and maintain peace.”
“Israel might not be willing to accept Türkiye’s presence, but there is an agreement, and Türkiye is one of the guarantors,” the source said.
Speaking at the CMCC’s inauguration Tuesday, Vance did not rule out a Turkish presence.
“We’re not going to force anything on our Israeli friends when it comes to foreign troops on their soil. But we do think that there’s a constructive role for the Turks to play, and frankly, they’ve already played a very constructive role,” he said.
The first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire deal was reached on Oct. 10. The plan’s initial stage includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as well as reconstruction efforts in Gaza and the creation of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 68,200 people and injured over 170,300 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
1 min read
2 min read
