The US president’s deep consideration of Erdogan follows

Ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, a reporter asked US President Donald Trump whether he would “allow Turkish forces to be deployed in Gaza”.

“I have a great relationship with President Erdogan and we will talk about it. A lot will depend on Bibi (using Netanyahu’s nickname). We will talk about it. But Turkey is excellent,” Trump replied.

Trump added yesterday, Dec. 29, that he has a “great relationship” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Netanyahu made his fifth visit to the U.S. since the start of Trump’s second term, and his next visit comes as negotiations continue to progress toward the second phase of an October ceasefire plan in Gaza, which followed more than two years of war. genocidal Israeli offensive against the Palestinian enclave.

The offensive has killed more than 71,200 Palestinians since October 2023, and injured over 171,200 others.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement included a cessation of hostilities, a partial Israeli withdrawal, the exchange of all Israeli hostages – living and dead – in exchange for the release of hundreds Palestinians held by Israel, and providing “full humanitarian assistance” to Gaza. The second phase, outlined in Trump’s 20-point peace plan, includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of the Executive Security Force (ISF) and the creation of a “technocratic” Palestinian committee to temporarily govern Gaza. Israel opposes the participation of Turkish troops in the ISF.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to keep the Gaza crossings largely closed, preventing the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials and exacerbating a humanitarian crisis affecting more than two million people.

Axios reported last week, citing anonymous US officials, that Trump’s top team is “increasingly frustrated” with Netanyahu’s moves to “undermine the fragile ceasefire”. Also last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the next step would be to announce a “Peace Committee” and a Palestinian technocratic group to manage day-to-day governance in Gaza, followed by finalizing the structure and mandate of the ISF. /tesheshi.com/

Source: prizrenpost