DOHA: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday 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 said that without those initial steps, expecting Hamas to disarm in the first phase of the ceasefire deal is neither “realistic nor doable.”
He said the proposed police force would exclude Hamas members and would be backed by an international stabilization force. He added that Washington was pressing Israel over Turkiye’s bid to join the force.
Fidan warned 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 had personally led the push.
SDF showing no intent to honor deal to integrate into Syrian state
Fidan also said on Saturday the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are signalling “no intention” of honoring their deal to integrate into Syrian state structures and are instead trying to circumvent it.
He said that Ankara was not giving the Syrian government a “blank cheque” to oppress minorities, adding that everyone in Syria “must feel safe and free.”
The minister also said Israel’s “destabilization policies” in Syria were the main obstacle to efforts to rebuild unity in the country.