Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells Reuters that a credible Palestinian civil administration and a vetted, trained police force should be in place to allow Hamas to disarm, saying the group is prepared to hand over governance of the enclave.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan says that without those initial steps, expecting Hamas to disarm in the first phase of the ceasefire deal is neither “realistic nor doable.”
He says the proposed police force would exclude Hamas members and would be backed by an international stabilization force. He adds that Washington is pressing Israel over Turkey’s bid to join the force.
Israel has been adamant that it will not allow such a development, as Ankara has been one of the world’s leading critics of Jerusalem since the start of the war over two years ago.
Fidan warns that failure by the international community to advance the ceasefire plan to its next stage would amount to a “huge failure” for the world and for Washington, noting that US President Donald Trump has personally led the push.
