Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”
Sign up to attend Michael’s talk in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 20: HERE.
The Palestinian cause is the central cause of the Muslim ummah, so expect plenty of sparks to fly once the war ends completely and the future of Gaza is being considered in earnest. The question of who governs Gaza must include considerations of Israel’s security and survival. The ongoing debate, which includes discussion of a possible Turkish presence in Gaza, shows up the complexity and absurdity of the way the whole issue is being framed. It should be obvious that since Turkey is a primary supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood (of which Hamas is an offshoot), Turkey should immediately be disqualified from involvement. But Turkey is barreling ahead: “Turkey Hosts Meeting of Leading Islamic Foreign Ministers To Discuss Future of Gaza,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, November 3, 2025:
Latest Developments
- ‘Palestinians Should Govern Palestinians’: Turkey convened a meeting of foreign ministers of Muslim-majority countries on November 3 to discuss the future of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave, and the proposed International Stabilization Force. “Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security, [and] the international community should support this in the best possible way — diplomatically, institutionally, and economically,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the meeting. Attendees included ministers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has openly supported Hamas throughout the war in Gaza, called for Islamic nations to “play a leading role in the reconstruction of Gaza,” while accusing Israel of violating the October 10 ceasefire agreement.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Met Hamas Delegation: The ministerial follows Fidan’s meeting with Hamas leaders, led by the terror organization’s chief Khalil al-Hayya, in Istanbul on November 1. Hamas, whose atrocities in Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered the Gaza war, is being included among eight Palestinian factions holding closed-door meetings to decide on the specific members of a post-war administration in Gaza. Despite being required to do so by the Trump administration’s 20-point plan for Gaza, Hamas has refused to disarm or relinquishcontrol of the territory, while it continues to hold hostage the bodies of kidnapped Israelis.
- Israel Opposed to Turkish Presence in Gaza: Israeli and U.S. leaders have disagreed on whether Turkey should have a role in the future of Gaza due to Turkey’s belligerent stance toward Israel and its support of Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed Turkey’s involvement in Gaza, stating, “Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us … [and] this is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well.” Meanwhile, the Trump administration, which involved Ankara as a mediator with Hamas to reach the ceasefire deal, has signaled that it believes “there’s a constructive role for the Turks to play” in Gaza. U.S. Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are also reportedly expressing reservations about the inclusion of Turkey as well as Qatar, which has also actively supported Hamas.
FDD Expert Response
“Turkey’s physical presence in Gaza as part of any stabilization force is not only ill-advised but also dangerous. Turkey lost all claim to be a credible actor to secure peace after siding with Hamas and aiding its murderous campaign….
Any notion of a Muslim Brotherhood-supporting country’s involvement in Gaza is a proverbial case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
But it hasn’t been viewed that way in a world that still widely regards Islam as a religion of peace, even making it the focus of every dialogue session in both the private and public sectors, right up to international negotiations. For over 1,400 years, Islam has proven itself to be a religion of conquest, as Israel learned yet again in the harshest way possible on October 7.
Turkey, which is regrettably a NATO member, has been part of ceasefire negotiations with Trump — who supports a Turkish presence in Gaza as “constructive.” But it’s just the opposite. It’s “ill-advised” and “dangerous,” as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies states. Turkey’s convening of an assembly of foreign ministers of Muslim-majority countries to discuss the future of Gaza is destined to come into conflict with Israel’s interests at the most basic level: survival.
It’s bizarre to entertain any notion of a Hamas-supporting country involved in a future Gaza. Let’s look at a couple of other major Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia is said to be moving in the direction of reform. Yet it has a disturbing record in the recent past:
- April 2023: Saudi Arabia to host senior Hamas delegation
- May 2023: Saudi Arabia to release more Hamas-linked prisoners after meeting with Hamas senior delegation
- Weeks before October 7, Saudi Arabia presented a map that erased Israel and replaced it with “Palestine”. Right after Hamas’ October 7 ISIS-like attack on Israeli citizens, Saudi Arabia joined Qatar and Iran to blame the “occupation.”
- November 2023: Saudi Arabia calls Israel’s defense against Hamas ‘inhumane,’ a ‘bloodbath’ by ‘Israeli occupation forces’
- November 2023: Saudi Arabia to host Islamic summits that will include Iran to discuss ‘peaceful resolution’ in Gaza
- June 2024: Saudi Daily editor-in-chief calls Netanyahu murderer, terrorist, war criminal, says Hamas must achieve victory
- July 2024: Saudi Arabia, Muslim World League welcome ICJ ruling that Israel’s ‘settlement’ policy breaks international law
- October 2024: Saudi Arabia hosts meeting of new group pushing for Palestinian state, accuses Israel of ‘genocide’
- December 2024: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and UN condemn Israel for ‘dangerous land grab in Syria’
Also, Saudi Arabia’s demands for normalization with Israel, are that it return to the pre-1967 borders (a.k.a. “the Auschwitz borders”), with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
As for Qatar, it is a primary Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas supporter. In fact, Qatar actually funds Hamas, al Qaeda (see also HERE and HERE), and Hizballah.
In 2020, the human rights group in Egypt, the Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue, released a report “stating that the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group is behind establishing 13 armed movements that carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt between 2013 and 2019.” The group openly accused Qatar and Turkey of funding the Muslim Brotherhood group designated by the Egyptian state as terrorist.” It went on to describe the Muslim Brotherhood (which originated in Egypt) as the “reference group for all violent terrorist organizations in the Middle East, saying it ‘adopts a discourse that incites violence, racism, hatred and exclusion of women and (people) of other religions.’”
Turkey and Qatar are close allies and have both been coordinating efforts for a future Gaza prior to Turkey’s latest call to assemble Muslim countries. Both of these top Muslim Brotherhood-supporting countries have also been described as having an “outsized role in Trump’s new Middle East.” Let’s hope Trump makes a U-turn. In the end, however, Israel must decide a strategy to protect its citizens and country from obliteration. Israel has already explicitly stated that it rejects Turkey playing any role in Gaza.
A global caliphate has and will always be the chief goal of Islam. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embodies that goal. He has been brazen about his aims toward a revived Ottoman Empire with himself as caliph. A top Israeli analyst described Turkey as “the new Iran” for good reason. That Turkey is still a member of NATO, and its push for a key role in the future of Gaza now is extremely dangerous to Israel. Turkey was also responsible for facilitating and backing the jihadist regime that is now governing Syria, and it is virulently opposed to the state of Israel. A new defense pact will now see Turkey provide weapons and support to al-Sharaa’s Syrian regime. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that Israel is working with Russia to keep Turkey out of Syria.
October 7 resulted in two significant global occurrences: it globalized the intifada, and showed up mainstream Muslim countries for what they are. The masks of lying Islamic taqiyya operatives are being ripped off. The truth is that the West faces the same battle Israel does. Few realize the central expansionary nature of Islam and the extent of brutality that jihadists are capable of employing at opportune times. Israel experienced it, as is Nigeria currently, and other African countries in the Sahel, Islamic Maghreb and West African regions. India is also a target. The faster Western countries wake up to what normative Islam is, the more of a fighting chance they will have to confront the expansionary jihad, of which Turkey is a major funder, and an imminent threat to the state of Israel. Turkey must be kept out of Gaza.
