The Turkish military is ready to send troops to the Gaza Strip as part of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), Turkish security sources cited across Turkish media claimed on Tuesday. "We have no problem with the troops being sent to Gaza to join the ISF. The Americans also very much want us there, while Israel opposes it. The Americans are pressuring Israel to have Turkish troops [as part of the force]," sources were cited as saying.
Turkish security sources affirmed that as a guarantor of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, and as a signatory to the peace process, they "must be there." "Our forces are ready. We have prepared all the necessary units. The moment the order is given, we will immediately form a modular unit," the sources were cited as saying.
"You cannot say that 'Turkish troops cannot come' when it is clear that Turkey is one of the countries that worked the hardest to establish the ceasefire and coordinated the exchange [of hostages for Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons]," the sources added. "If you say 'Turkish troops cannot come,' then you do not want this mission [the ceasefire process and the ISF] to succeed. You intend to continue to genocide," they accused.
On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, saying that not advancing the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan to the next stage would be a "huge failure" for the world and Washington. (Ed note: Always remember that President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has two dreams, destroying Isarel, and rebuilding the Ottoman Empire.) (Read More)
