On December 16, US Central Command convened a multi-nation conference in Doha, the capital of Qatar.  Its purpose was to set up the International Stabilization Force (ISF) that is an essential element in Phase Two of President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire/peace plan.  The ​enterprise was a failure.  As painfully emerged after the conference, not a single unequivocal commitment was forthcoming from the multitude of nations attending.  Media reports indicate that offers of troop​s, police ​or finance remained at the level of “interest” or conditional willingness, pending ​domestic legal reviews​ and a clearer mandate, ​or a UN or treaty framework​.

For some reason no complete list of the nations participating in the conference has yet been provided in official media releases.  Published reports of the number of states present vary wildly from “approximately 25” as reported by The Media Line, to 45 according to Ynet Global.   Among the states that did attend though, there were two notable absentees:  Israel and Turkey.  Neither ​had been invited.

As for Israel, most political analysts agree that since Washington was trying to convince Arab, Muslim and other states to send forces or support to Gaza, Israel​’s presence would ​have made their participation more ​difficult.  ​​In the absence of Israel​, moreover, it would be easier to keep the focus on the prospective multinational force rather than on Israel’s security demands.  

Turkey, it is generally agreed, was not invited because Israel specifically requested its exclusion. Israel has consistently objected........

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