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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-faces-middle-east-test-netanyahu-balks-erdogans-gaza-troop-hopes
Israel Balks at Erdogan's Gaza Troop Hopes
(Fox News) Efrat Lachter - Turkey is reportedly preparing a brigade of 2,000 soldiers to join a U.S.-backed stabilization force in Gaza. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said President Trump must recognize the depth of the ideological divide between Israel and Turkish President Erdogan's government. "Trump is an economic warrior and a dealmaker. He wants to put everyone in his Middle East regional deal by embracing enemies and allies alike," Diker said. "But he doesn't take into account the profoundly deep-rooted enmity that Erdogan's government embodies. Turkey is not a friend of the United States and the Western alliance, even though it's a NATO member. It is currently on a mission to assert itself as an Islamic imperial power in the Middle East." "You want to talk about an occupier? They're the major occupiers of Syria right now, and they see themselves as the determining Islamic power in Gaza. This is a very dangerous moment, and the president would be well advised to back Israel without conditions." Erdogan is "publicly supporting and financing an international Islamic terror organization." Trump "cannot allow himself to compromise the principles of America first, which is Israel first and the West first." Former Israeli National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror said, "I think Israel must stand firmly on its feet to prevent Turkish forces from entering. Turkey is a power with a desire to expand its borders and its influence into areas that are relevant to us, and therefore we must not accept a Turkish army in Gaza. He added that Israel must retain operational freedom inside Gaza even after the war. "Israel must not give up Israeli freedom of action, like in Lebanon. The moment Hamas rebuilds itself, we will act as we do in Lebanon."