Turkey Leaves Gaza Peace Board Summit Empty-Handed

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan left the inaugural Board of Peace summit in Washington without securing a spot for Turkish troops in Gaza’s International Stabilization Force (ISF). Turkey’s exclusion from the ISF roster dampens President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s longtime desire to put boots on the ground in Gaza, despite his best efforts to sway the White House.

No Soldiers Allowed: Ankara’s Board Role Relegated to Logistics

During the February 19 summit, the board formally announced Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Morocco as the five Muslim-majority states committing troops to the ISF. Turkey is notably absent from these recognized contributors despite Fidan’s insistence at the summit that Ankara is “prepared to provide troops,” indicating that the board ultimately denied Ankara’s request to join. Fidan also expressed Turkish interest in building Gaza’s police force, but Egypt and Jordan were given stewardship over police reconstruction, relegating Turkey to a mainly logistical role.

In addition, Fidan delivered limited but thinly veiled criticisms of Israel in Washington, decrying allegedly ongoing ceasefire violations by Israel. All the while, the Israeli military has reported ongoing Hamas militant activity as Israeli and international media raise concerns over the group’s political reconstitution.

Turkish Troops Remain a Red Line for Israel

Ankara’s failure to gain a stake in the ISF stems from its adversarial rhetoric toward Israel throughout the Gaza war and Turkish leaders’ uncomfortable solidarity with Hamas. As a result, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly and firmly forbidden Turkish troops from entering Gaza.

Erdogan never condemned the October 7 attacks, and has long championed Hamas as a “resistance group,” most recently in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier during his visit to Washington last September. All the while, high-ranking Hamas operatives have long waited out the war under Erdogan’s protection, even using Turkey as a command base for planning terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Israelis thus bear legitimate concerns over a pro-Hamas military force deploying in Gaza, which might sabotage prospects for the terrorist group’s disarmament or even funnel weapons to remaining insurgents.

A Push to Unseat Hamas in Turkey

The Trump administration must insist that Ankara dismantle Hamas as a functioning entity in Turkey. Hamas established its presence in Turkey beginning in 2011 and continues to maintain offices and personnel there. Inside Turkey, the U.S.-designated terrorist entity actively recruits new militants, fundraises, and plans terrorist operations to be carried out inside Israel. Washington should make clear to Ankara that a NATO ally can provide neither sanctuary nor a permissive operating environment for a terrorist entity that undermines the national security of other U.S. allies.

Until Ankara verifiably dismantles Hamas’s infrastructure in Turkey and ends support for terrorism, its role on the Gaza Peace Board should be limited to the delivery of humanitarian aid via safe third countries.