Turkiye’s top diplomat calls for peace in Gaza, demands clear framework to address ceasefire violations by Israel
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Turkiye wants to do whatever is necessary for peace “but we need to see an agreeable framework first.”
Fidan also said there are still major differences between Israel and the Palestinians that can’t be resolved in the short term, adding that Israel must stop its regular violations of the ceasefire and fulfil its duty to allow access to humanitarian aid.
The foreign minister added that countries will have to decide whether to send soldiers to the still-unformed International Stabilisation Force (ISF), an international body whose establishment was part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan. The force is expected to guarantee security inside Gaza.
Yet there are still unanswered questions, including what kind of mandate the ISF would have, who would join and what would be its rules of engagement.
Fidan spoke after a ministerial meeting in Istanbul involving Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkiye.
Turkiye would be a key actor balancing Israel and disarming Hamas
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has just held a press conference in which he said Ankara is prepared to play any role in order to maintain the fragile truce in Gaza, amid Israeli objections to a potential role for it in a peacekeeping force there.
Omer Ozkizilcik, non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, says Turkiye would be a key actor, despite Israeli opposition, in realising the twin goals of the ceasefire: securing an Israeli withdrawal and ensuring Hamas disarms.
“When it comes to both Turkiye is the key because Hamas will trust Turkiye and will be more willing to disarm itself, so the Turkish role will be a facilitating role,” Ozkizilcik told Al Jazeera.
“When it come to restraining Israel in the Middle East, after the weakening of Iraq, Turkiye has emerged as the main geopolitical balancing actor against the Israeli position,” he added.
Turkish foreign minister stresses need for clear stabilisation force definition
The countries that met today in Istanbul are waiting for the United Nations Security Council to define the mandate of this stabilisation force. All parties wishing to send troops to this task force, to this stabilisation force, want to see the scope and definition of this force clearly set out.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who represented all the foreign ministers today, mentioned that all players were trying to do their best, that everyone was trying to shoulder a burden, but that the definition must be clear.
On the other hand, it is also a controversial topic in Turkiye, because while the Turkish Defence Ministry, the Turkish army and Turkish officials have consistently emphasised that Turkiye is ready to send troops, we have heard from Israeli officials that Turkish troops should not be allowed in that task force, either as a peacekeeping force or as a monitoring force.
