WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he has a “great relationship” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and added that he would discuss the potential deployment of Turkish forces to Gaza during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I have a great relationship with President Erdogan, and we’ll be talking about it. And if it’s good, I think that’s good,” Trump said when asked whether he expects Turkish troops to be stationed in Gaza as part of the international stabilization force (ISF) required in his 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan.
He added that the matter “will be having to do with Bibi,” using a nickname often attributed to Netanyahu ahead of their meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Netanyahu is on his fifth trip to the US since the start of Trump’s second term, with his visit coming as talks continue to advance to the second phase of the October Gaza ceasefire plan, which followed more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.
The offensive has killed more than 71,200 Palestinians and injured over 171,200 others since October 2023.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement included a halt to war, partial Israeli withdrawal, the exchange of all Israeli hostages—living and deceased — in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, and the entry of “full humanitarian aid” into Gaza.
The second phase, outlined in Trump’s 20-point peace plan, includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, deployment of the ISF, and the establishment of a Palestinian “technocratic” committee to temporarily govern Gaza. Israel opposes the involvement of Turkish troops in the ISF.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to keep Gaza’s crossings largely closed, preventing the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials and worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting over 2 million people.
Axios reported last week, citing anonymous US officials, that Trump’s top team has grown “increasingly frustrated” with Netanyahu’s steps to “undermine the fragile ceasefire.”
Also last week, Secretary of State Rubio said the next step would be announcing a “Board of Peace” and a Palestinian technocratic group to manage daily governance in Gaza, followed by finalizing the ISF’s structure and mandate.