Netanyahu: Israel to decide which foreign forces enter Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza, news agency Reuters reported. 

"We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," Netanyahu said.

"This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days," he told a session of his cabinet.

While the Trump administration has ruled out sending US soldiers into the Gaza Strip, it has been speaking to Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Azerbaijan to contribute to the multinational force.

Defence officials reportedly told Israeli lawmakers that the international force to be deployed in Gaza is likely to include troops from Pakistan, according to a report in Ynet news.

Members of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee were reportedly told during a briefing last week that the international force will be made up of soldiers from Indonesia, Azerbaijan and Pakistan.