Israel will not accept the participation of Turkish armed forces in Gaza under a U.S.-proposed plan aimed at ending the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Budapest alongside Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Saar made clear that Israel opposes Türkiye’s involvement in the proposed international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza to uphold a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at least fair to Israel,” Saar said. “During the last four years and even before that, Türkiye, led by President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, has taken a hostile approach against Israel, including hostile statements as well as diplomatic and economic measures. It is not reasonable for us to let their armed forces enter the Gaza Strip, and we have said this to our American friends.”

The U.S. plan, proposed by President Donald Trump, envisions an international coalition tasked with securing the ceasefire that recently ended two years of devastating warfare between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. However, questions remain about which countries would be willing or permitted to contribute troops to such a force.

While the Trump administration has ruled out deploying U.S. soldiers to Gaza, Washington has reportedly reached out to Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan to participate.

Relations between Israel and Türkiye have sharply deteriorated in recent years, particularly over Ankara’s condemnation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023. That offensive, launched after Hamas’s surprise attacks on southern Israel, has since drawn international outrage and accusations of genocidal violence against Palestinians.

According to humanitarian agencies and rights organizations, Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, and displaced more than two million residents. Large swaths of the enclave have been reduced to rubble, with the United Nations warning of famine conditions and a complete collapse of civilian infrastructure.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) continues to hear a genocide case against Israel, filed by South Africa, which alleges that Israel’s military actions in Gaza amount to a systematic campaign to destroy the Palestinian population. Israel has denied the accusations, claiming its operations target Hamas fighters and infrastructure.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that Israel would have the final say over which countries could join the proposed international force. “Israel will decide which foreign forces to allow in Gaza,” he said, echoing comments he made last week strongly opposing any Turkish role.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited Israel on Friday to bolster support for the ceasefire, said the multinational force would consist of “countries that Israel’s comfortable with.” He declined to comment specifically on Türkiye’s participation.

The latest diplomatic exchanges underscore ongoing tensions between Israel and Türkiye, as well as the broader international challenge of stabilizing Gaza after a year of catastrophic conflict and humanitarian devastation. (ILKHA)