{"id":247145,"date":"2026-01-20T00:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/247145\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T00:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:38:13","slug":"pm-vows-no-qatari-turkish-troops-in-gaza-after-countries-given-role-on-oversight-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/247145\/","title":{"rendered":"PM vows no Qatari, Turkish troops in Gaza after countries given role on oversight body"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Monday that Turkish and Qatari forces would not set foot in Gaza, days after the White House announced that officials from the countries would sit on a key committee set to oversee the Strip\u2019s postwar management.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged that Israel and the US had a \u201ccertain argument\u201d about the issue.<\/p>\n

In a speech on Monday in the Knesset, the premier also claimed that the two countries, which are hostile to Israel, will not \u201chave any authority or any influence\u201d in the various bodies set up by US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to run postwar Gaza. In fact, the US decision to include senior representatives from both countries in the committee, called the Gaza Executive Board, means they will take part in supervising the enclave.<\/p>\n

Prior to the US announcement, Netanyahu\u2019s office repeatedly insisted that Israel would not allow Turkey or Qatar to gain any foothold in Gaza after the war. However, following the US announcement that the countries will play a role, Netanyahu has shifted to highlighting his opposition to a Turkish and Qatari military presence there.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurkish soldiers and Qatari soldiers will not be in the Strip,\u201d he said in a speech from the Knesset rostrum.<\/p>\n

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While Turkey has indeed expressed interest in joining the multinational force meant to oversee Gaza\u2019s security, the idea has not even been entertained by Qatar, as the Gulf state\u2019s military is not suitable for such a contribution, sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu made the remarks during a so-called 40-signatures debate in the Knesset, a monthly opportunity for lawmakers to compel the prime minister to speak, and answer his opponents by garnering the requisite number of signatories on a petition. This month\u2019s debate was initiated by the Ra\u2019am party\u2019s Mansour Abbas, and he called the premier to account for the country\u2019s response to rampant crime in Arab Israeli locales.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\t\tOpposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks to the Knesset plenum on January 19, 2026. (Noam Moskowitz\/ Knesset Spokesman\u2019s Office)<\/p>\n

But as is customary, Netanyahu and his opponents used the session as an opportunity to attack each other on a range of hot-button issues. The stakes were raised on Monday, with the government rushing to pass the 2026 state budget, and with an election approaching later in the year.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, in his remarks, also promised that Hamas would be disarmed in Gaza, and threatened to strike back harshly at Iran if it attacks Israel. He claimed he had \u201cnothing to hide\u201d regarding his conduct surrounding the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. And he took shots at Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.<\/p>\n

Lapid, in his speech, accused Netanyahu of failure in the Gaza war, of capitulating to extremists in his coalition, and of undermining the IDF. He said the prime minister had left Israel isolated and lost trust with voters. Another opposition politician, Avigdor Liberman, wondered aloud whether Netanyahu had \u201cforgotten what it is to be a Zionist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu vows Hamas will be disarmed<\/p>\n

Netanyahu was reportedly kept in the dark about the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar on the Gaza Executive Board.<\/p>\n

He boasted in his speech, however, that he is willing to stand up to the US when there are disagreements over core issues. \u201cWhen it comes to Israel\u2019s essential interests, we can argue, we can sharpen our positions, and, by the way, we can come to agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed that occasional disagreements do not hurt ties with Trump, \u201cour greatest friend in the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also claimed that Hamas would be compelled to lay down its arms, a central piece of Gaza\u2019s phase two. And he pledged to return the body of the final slain hostage, police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhase two says something simple: Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarized,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe are sticking to those goals, and they will be achieved either the easy way or the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel will \u2018act with strength\u2019 if attacked by Iran<\/p>\n

The premier also addressed other issues of the day, including the recent mass anti-regime demonstrations in Iran. He said Israel is \u201cfollowing closely\u201d developments in the country, and he praised the \u201cheroic struggle\u201d of the Iranian people against the regime.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, January 19, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/ Flash90)<\/p>\n

Trump had threatened to attack Iran, prompting a threat from Tehran to strike Israel in response. Netanyahu, who launched a 12-day air war against Iran last year, issued his own threat on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Iran makes a mistake and attacks us, we will act with strength that Iran hasn\u2019t yet known,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n

He also again defended his government\u2019s rejection of a state commission of inquiry, Israel\u2019s highest investigative authority, to probe the failures surrounding the October 7 attack. His government is instead advancing the formation of a politically appointed inquiry, which the Knesset opposition has vowed to boycott.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu also claimed to have answered questions over \u201clong hours\u201d from the state comptroller about the October 7 attack. The prime minister\u2019s rivals have cast doubt on the comptroller\u2019s probe in part because he was appointed by a Netanyahu-led government.<\/p>\n

\u201cA day will come when the truth on everything that preceded the war and everything that happened at the time of the war \u2014 everything will be exposed to the eyes of the broader public,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m the first who wants everything to be presented in public. I have nothing to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

That comment was met with jeers from the plenum.<\/p>\n

Opposition leader accuses Netanyahu of \u2018political failure\u2019<\/p>\n

Lapid, in his own speech, accused Netanyahu of mismanaging relations with the US and postwar Gaza, telling him from the podium that Trump acted \u201cover your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas\u2019s hosts in Istanbul and Doha, Hamas\u2019s ideological partners, have been invited to run Gaza,\u201d said the opposition leader and chair of the Yesh Atid party, adding that the \u201cdominant factor\u201d in the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to govern the Strip \u201cis the Palestinian Authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 16, 2026. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

He went on to claim that Netanyahu either \u201cagreed behind our backs that Turkey, Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority would be in Gaza,\u201d or that the premier did not know about their inclusion, which means \u201cTrump doesn\u2019t give a damn about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He predicted that the postwar framework taking shape in the Strip could necessitate a return to war there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the State of Israel is forced to return to fighting in Gaza, every soldier who is called up to the reserves will know it is because of your political failure. Absolute failure,\u201d Lapid charged. \u201cWe are returning to Gaza, not to the starting point, but to a point much worse than at the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next election, he said, will hinge on which leaders can be trusted, and \u201cyou can no longer tell voters that they can trust you. You used to be able to; you no longer can,\u201d Lapid told Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

Liberman says Netanyahu is \u2018accomplice\u2019 of extremists<\/p>\n

Lapid also castigated Netanyahu for working to pass a bill that will enshrine sweeping exemptions from the military draft for yeshiva students, accusing him of \u201cpromoting a disgraceful evasion law when the IDF is screaming that it lacks fighters and our children are being killed and injured by the thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\t\tYisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Liberman speaks to the Knesset plenum on January 19, 2026. (Noam Moskowitz\/ Knesset Spokesman\u2019s Office)<\/p>\n

Liberman, in his speech, asked Netanyahu if he has \u201cforgotten what it is to be a Zionist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can it be that in the heart of the State of Israel, in the city of Bnei Brak, soldiers from the Hasmonean Brigade are attacked \u2014 five soldiers wounded \u2014 and you are silent?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Last Sunday, extremist Haredi protesters broke into a gathering held for parents of recruits to the newly formed ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade. The IDF said no soldiers were wounded.<\/p>\n

There was \u201cnot a single response from the Prime Minister\u2019s Office. How can it be that a soldier in uniform cannot walk around Bnei Brak?\u201d Liberman continued. \u201cHow can it be that there are entire neighborhoods closed to IDF soldiers\u2026 and you continue to remain silent?\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberman added that Netanyahu \u201cbecame an accomplice of those extremists,\u201d and vowed to send the premier \u201cto the opposition benches\u201d after the election.<\/p>\n

Abbas: Crime in Israel is \u2018systemic failure\u2019<\/p>\n

Addressing the reason for which the debate was called, Netanyahu said his government is treating the issue of crime and violence in Arab communities \u201cas a core national challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\t\tPolice raid the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana, in southern Israel, December 28, 2025. (Dudu Greenspan\/ Flash90)<\/p>\n

He noted that last week he took Israel\u2019s defense, intelligence, and law enforcement leadership to the Negev to gain firsthand insights into the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cCriminal organizations are terror organizations in every way,\u201d he declared. \u201cThat is how we are treating them, and that is how we are dealing with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ra\u2019am leader Abbas, in his speech, noted that Netanyahu has served as prime minister nearly uninterrupted since 2009 and that \u201cover the past 20 years nearly 2,000 citizens have been murdered as part of the phenomenon of crime and violence within Arab society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past year alone, we surpassed 250 murder victims, including 46 murdered women in Israel,\u201d Abbas added, complaining that \u201cfor many years, thousands of citizens in Israel have been paying protection money to criminal organizations, and there is still no response.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\t\tRa\u2019am MK Mansour Abbas speaks during a 40-signatures debate at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 19, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Abbas said Israelis are experiencing \u201ca loss of personal, community, municipal, and national security\u201d not limited to Arab society. This, he said, represents \u201ca systemic failure \u2014 both at the policy level, in attention, priorities, and effort invested in this issue, and at the level of the day-to-day functioning of law enforcement and state authorities in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu attacks Ra\u2019am<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, speaking after Abbas, criticized his historically Islamist Ra\u2019am party, indicating a likely line of attack in the election campaign.<\/p>\n

The premier told the opposition, \u201cIn order for the Muslim Brotherhood\u2019s Shura Council to approve Ra\u2019am joining your government, you have simply given in to its demands.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those demands, he claimed, is to turn a blind eye to Arab criminal gangs working to take control of local governments.<\/p>\n

Ra\u2019am has distanced itself from the Muslim Brotherhood after Netanyahu indicated he would try to bar the organization, announcing that it would become a civic party open to Jewish candidates.<\/p>\n

Abbas has said that Netanyahu previously courted his party to join his coalition in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Monday that Turkish and Qatari forces would not set foot in Gaza, days…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-247145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}