Gaza ISF: Israel Opposes Turkish Troops, Jordan Warns against Peace ‘Enforcement’

Israel has opposed the idea of Turkish troops joining the international stabilization force (ISF) proposed by the US to oversee the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said that countries would reject peace “enforcement” role in Gaza, opting for peacekeeping without direct confrontation with any side.

No Turkish Role

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, explicitly opposed the involvement of Türkiye in the proposed international force in Gaza, reported the Associated Press (AP).

During a visit to Hungary, Saar told reporters on Monday that Israel will not allow Turkish troops to take part in the ISF in Gaza due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hostile stance towards Israel.

“Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at least fair to Israel,” the Israeli Foreign Minister said, adding that Tel Aviv has communicated this position to American officials.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday that Israel would decide which foreign troops would join the ISF in Gaza, reported Reuters. “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,” he said.

“This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days,” he added.

Last week, Netanyahu rejected the involvement of Turkish troops in the Gaza force. “I have very strong opinions about that. Want to guess what they are?” he said in response to a question about Türkiye.

Gaza ISF

Under the 20-point peace plan, brokered by US President Donald Trump, the US, Arab and international partners will cooperate to form a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) for immediate deployment in Gaza. This force will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field.

Moreover, as the force establishes control and stability, the Israeli military will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until their complete withdrawal from Gaza.

Taking effect on October 10, 2025, Hamas and Israel are implementing the peace plan’s first phase, which includes a ceasefire and the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Discussions are underway for moving forward with peace deal’s second phase, with the US pushing for the creation and deployment of the ISF in Gaza. To this end, the US has established a civilian and military coordination center in Israel to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza.

The center includes about 200 US troops working alongside counterparts from Israel and other countries, including Cyprus, Greece, France, Germany, Australia and Canada, to plan Gaza’s stabilization and reconstruction.

Participating Countries

Although US officials have said there would be no American troops on the ground in Gaza, they said multiple countries have expressed interest in joining the ISF. During a visit to Israel, the US State Secretary, Marco Rubio, said that Washington was in talks with Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye regarding the ISF, with Indonesia and Azerbaijan showing interest.

He also added that Israel needs to be comfortable with the countries that are participating in the force. “There’s a lot of countries that have offered to do it. Obviously as you put together this force, it will have to be people that Israel is comfortable with,” Rubio said.

Furthermore, Israeli defense officials told Knesset lawmakers that the ISF could include troops from Pakistan, in addition to Indonesia and Azerbaijan, the Israeli Ynet news website reported.

The Turkish President Erdogan, one of the Gaza ceasefire agreement signatories, voiced readiness to “provide all kinds of support to Gaza.” Additionally, Turkish defense officials told AP that Ankara was getting ready to play any role in Gaza as required, whether peacekeeping or humanitarian assistance.

ISF Mandate

Rubio said that American officials were working on a UN resolution or international agreement to authorize a multinational force in Gaza.

“Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level — whether it be monetary or personnel or both — are going to need that (a UN mandate) because their domestic laws require it. So we have a whole team working on that outline of it,” the US State Secretary noted.

In the light of this, King Abdullah II of Jordan stated that the international force’s role in Gaza should focus on peacekeeping and not enforcing peace between Hamas and Israel, reflecting countries’ concern over getting dragged into a conflict in the Strip.

During an interview with BBC, King Abdullah said: “What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it’s peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that.”

“Peacekeeping is that you’re sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, which Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we’re running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that’s not a situation that any country would like to get involved in,” he explained.

Jordan’s King ruled out sending troops to Gaza because Amman was “too close politically” to the situation.