Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that failure to advance the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan would be a “huge failure” for Washington and the international community, stressing that President Donald Trump personally led the initiative.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan said Hamas was prepared to hand over control of Gaza, but insisted that a credible Palestinian Arab civil administration and a vetted police force must first be established.
“First of all, we need to see that the Palestinian committee of technical people are taking over the administration of Gaza, then we need to see that the police force is being formed to police Gaza - again, by the Palestinians, not Hamas,” he stated.
Turkey, a NATO member, played a key role in negotiating the Gaza ceasefire and was among the signatories of the accord signed in Egypt.
Ankara has pledged to monitor its implementation and expressed interest in joining the stabilization force.
However, Israel has firmly rejected any Turkish involvement in post-war Gaza despite Turkey's continuing push to be a part of the international force in Gaza.
Israel’s stance is due to the fact that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has increased his verbal attacks on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Fidan said in Saturday’s interview that the Gaza police would be backed by the international stabilization force. He added that Washington was pressing Israel on Turkey’s bid to join the mission, noting Ankara’s readiness to deploy troops if required.