JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The White House presented its peace plan for the Gaza Strip on Friday. Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of the establishment of a “Peace Council” that would govern and rehabilitate the Gaza Strip, the American administration sent an official invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Argentine Prime Minister Javier Milei, and other senior figures to join the council.
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On Saturday night, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a sharp statement rejecting the claim. In Israel, the decision was received with complete surprise, as the move had not been coordinated in advance with Israel, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. Netanyahu’s office stated that “the announcement regarding the composition of Gaza’s governing committee, which is subordinate to the Peace Conference, was not coordinated with Israel and contradicts its policy. The Prime Minister instructed the Foreign Minister to raise the matter with the U.S. Secretary of State.”
An informed source said that the committee that includes the Turkish foreign minister and the senior Qatari official is advisory, not a decision-making body. According to the source, Israel sought to change the names on the committee but failed, with both Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner insisting on their inclusion as recognition for their role in brokering the hostage deal.
As revealed by Maariv about two weeks ago, the Prime Minister informed Trump that Israel strongly opposes the deployment of Erdoğan’s troops on Gaza soil, but there was no statement from Trump confirming this position. Even if Israel succeeds in preventing this clear and immediate danger, and there is a reasonable chance that it will, Trump may insist that, at the very least, Turkey be included in the Peace Council that is meant to oversee Gaza’s administration. In Israel this would be presented as the lesser of two evils, but in truth it could be the worst of bad options.
Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seeks Israel’s destruction no less than Hamas does. Israel would be forced to maintain constant and close oversight of the areas entrusted to Turkey, and it would not always be able to do so. When Turkey, together with other Arab states, eventually demands a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip and leads such a firm demand on behalf of the entire Peace Council, it is not certain that Israel will be able to prevent it.
Returning control of the Strip to foreign hands would constitute a loss for Israel in the war, overshadowing the achievement of dismantling Hamas. The first signs that this is precisely what may happen are already emerging on the ground. The demand that reconstruction begin specifically in Rafah is a deeply troubling sign. Rafah is currently within Israeli-controlled territory, in the so-called “yellow zone.” Withdrawal from the yellow zone, especially from the most sensitive area adjacent to the Egyptian border, together with the demand to open the Rafah Crossing in both directions, could return Gaza to square one.
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