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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday declared that Turkish and Qatari military personnel will not be stationed in Gaza, directly contradicting a U.S. decision to include officials from both countries on the Gaza Executive Board tasked with overseeing postwar management.
Speaking during a heated 40-signature debate in the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), Netanyahu acknowledged Israel has a "certain dispute" with the United States over the composition of governance bodies being established under U.S. President Donald Trump's postwar plan for Gaza.
"Turkish soldiers and Qatari soldiers will not be in the Strip," Netanyahu stated from the Knesset rostrum.
"We have a certain dispute with our friends in the United States regarding the composition of the advisory council that will accompany the processes in Gaza," he added.
Netanyahu's statement came days after the White House announced that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and senior Qatari officials would serve on the Gaza Executive Board, designed to oversee humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in the Palestinian enclave.
The prime minister emphasized that neither country "will have any authority or any influence in the various bodies set up by Trump's administration to run postwar Gaza," despite their formal appointment to the board.
Netanyahu's hardline stance represents a tactical shift. Prior to the White House announcement, Netanyahu's office "repeatedly insisted that Israel would not allow Türkiye or Qatar to gain any foothold in Gaza after the war," but has subsequently focused on opposing military presence specifically rather than their involvement entirely.
Netanyahu reiterated Israel's core objectives for Gaza under Trump's plan, saying, "Phase B means one simple thing: Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarized," adding, "We are committed to these goals, and they will be achieved, either the hard way or the easy way."
The second phase of the Trump plan follows the first phase, which includes prisoner exchanges and hostage returns. Israel is still awaiting the return of the remains of Ran Gvili as stipulated in the initial stage of the agreement.
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Beyond Gaza governance, Netanyahu issued a stark warning to Iran regarding military threats to Israel, stating, "If Iran makes a mistake and attacks us, we will respond with a force it has never known."
"No one can predict what a day in Iran will bring, but one thing is clear, whatever happens, Iran will not return to what it was," Netanyahu said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid launched a sharp counterattack, arguing Netanyahu had failed to convert military victory into political achievement in Gaza.
"Our soldiers, our heroes, did the work above and beyond. You had one job: to complete the military move in a political move—and you failed at it completely," Lapid told the Knesset.
Lapid proposed an alternative approach, advocating that Egypt manage Gaza for the next 15 years rather than Turkish and Qatari involvement. He characterized Türkiye and Qatar as "ideological partners of the Muslim Brotherhood" while describing Egypt as "the bitterest enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood."
"Instead of bringing Egypt closer, making it our partner in the war against Hamas, within your office, an influence operation was conducted against Egypt financed by Qatar," Lapid charged.
Lapid argued Netanyahu's strategy has worsened Israel's position, saying, "After two years of war and hundreds of dead, we return to Gaza not to the starting point, but to a much worse point than at the beginning."
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