US giving Ankara cold shoulder on Gaza troop deployment as Israel vetoes Turkish forces — source

Turkey has begun preparing troops for potential deployment to the temporary International Stabilization Force to be established in Gaza under Washington’s 20-point peace plan, but US officials are giving Ankara the cold shoulder on the issue in light of Israel’s veto of any Turkish presence in the Strip, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

According to the official, the US is not currently exerting meaningful pressure on Israel to accept Turkish participation, but Ankara hopes that Washington will eventually do so, given the slow progress in recruiting other countries willing to contribute troops.

“The Turks are eager. They are already preparing forces for this purpose. But there’s the Israeli veto, so they are hopeful that the United States might eventually resort to [pushing for the deployment of Turkish troops] if they are not successful with other parties.”

Asked if the US is already applying pressure on Israel to accept Turkish troops, the official says no, adding, “The Americans are still giving the Turks the cold shoulder so far. But could this change? It might change. I think it’s a very slight possibility.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that Turkey was still evaluating how to potentially deploy its security forces to the ISF. Israel has repeatedly said it will not allow Turkish troops on the ground in Gaza, amid a near-total breakdown of ties between the countries during the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza.

Turning to Egypt, another key player involved in the ISF framework, the official says, “There are already discussions [on the ISF] between the Americans and Egypt in Cairo on the level of the defense ministry,” noting they could not discuss details on the talks.