JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Wednesday at his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission to monitor a US-backed ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Speaking in Jerusalem alongside visiting US Vice President JD Vance, Netanyahu said they had discussed the “day-after” for Gaza, including who could provide security in the territory shattered by two years of war.
Vance, who said on Tuesday US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan was going better than expected, reiterated his optimism. “I never said it was easy. But what I am is optimistic that the ceasefire is going to hold and that we can actually build a better future in the entire Middle East,” he said.
With a fragile ceasefire in place for 12 days, focus has switched to the second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan.
This requires Hamas to disarm and foresees the establishment of an internationally-supervised Palestinian committee to run Gaza with an international force supporting vetted Palestinian police.
