Netanyahu says Israel will decide which foreign troops acceptable to secure Gaza ceasefire
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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that he would be opposed to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Oct 26 Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure an end to its war under US President Donald Trump’s plan.
It remains unclear whether Arab and other states will be ready to commit troops while Israel has expressed concerns about the make-up of the force. While the Trump administration has ruled out sending US soldiers into Gaza
“We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate,” Mr Netanyahu told a session of his Cabinet.
“This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days.”
Israel, which besieged Gaza for two years to back up its air and ground war in the enclave against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group’s cross-border attack on Oct 7, 2023
Last week, Mr Netanyahu hinted that he would be opposed to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip. Once warm Turkish-Israeli relations hit new lows during the Gaza war, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan lambasting Israel’s devastating air and ground war in the small Palestinian enclave.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to Israel aimed at shoring up the fragile ceasefire, said on Oct 24 the international force would have to be made up of “countries that Israel’s comfortable with”, but declined to comment specifically on Turkish involvement.
Mr Rubio added that Gaza’s future governance still needs to be worked out among Israel and partner nations but could not include Hamas.
He later said US officials were getting input on a possible UN resolution or international agreement to authorise the multinational force in Gaza and would discuss the issue in Qatar on Oct 26.
The Trump administration wants Arab states to contribute funds and troops.
A major challenge is that Hamas has not committed to disarming and, since a ceasefire took hold two weeks ago as the first stage of Mr Trump’s 20-point plan
Israel says Hamas knows where hostage remains are
At the same time, the remains of 13 dead hostages remain in Gaza with Hamas citing obstacles to locating them in the pervasive rubble left by the fighting.
An Israeli government spokeswoman said on Oct 26 that Hamas, which released the remaining 20 living hostages it took in its October 2023 assault, knew where the bodies were.
“Israel is aware that Hamas knows where our deceased hostages are, in fact, located. If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our hostages,” the spokeswoman said.
Israel had, however, allowed the entry of an Egyptian technical team to work with the Red Cross
She said the team would use excavator machines and trucks for the search beyond the so-called yellow line in Gaza behind which Israeli troops have initially pulled back to, under Mr Trump’s plan.
Mr Netanyahu also said on Oct 26 Israel was an independent country and rejected the notion that “the American administration controls me and dictates Israel’s security policy”. Israel and the US, he said, are a “partnership”.
Diplomats and analysts say Mr Trump managed to push Mr Netanyahu, who had long rejected global pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza, to accept his framework for a broader peace deal and also forced Mr Netanyahu to call Qatar’s leader to apologise after a failed bombing raid targeting Hamas negotiators in that country.
Mr Trump also persuaded Arab states to convince Hamas to return all the Israeli hostages, its key leverage in the war. REUTERS
