Turkish President Erdogan meets Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, calls for Palestinian unity against Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday held an hours-long meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of the terrorist group Hamas, and called for Palestinian unity against Israel.

Hamas along with allied groups like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip for more than six months. Israel went on a war against Hamas and allied groups in Gaza after these groups mounted the worst-ever terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,400 people were killed and over 250 hostages were taken.

In his meeting with Haniyeh, Erdogan said that Israel should not benefit from the ongoing tensions with Iran and stressed on the importance of refocusing the attention on Gaza, according to the Turkish Directorate of Communications.

Palestinian unity and integrity must for victory against Israel: Erdogan

Erdogan said that the “strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lie in unity and integrity” of the Palestinians, according to AFP.

Currently, the Palestinian polity is divided between the terrorist group Hamas and mainstream political party Fatah. While Fatah runs the Palestinian Authority (PA), the de-facto Palestinian administration that partially governs West Bank, Hamas has controlled and governed Gaza since 2007. It is not clear if Erdogan was implying that the two factions should reconcile.

“President Erdoğan also stated that Palestinians’ acting in unison is of vital importance during this time, that the most robust response to Israel and the way to victory go through unity and integrity, and that Palestine’s rightful cause and facts be communicated more effectively against Israel, which misleads international public opinion,” said the Turkish Directorate of Communications in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Erdogan further expressed that “Israel will one day pay the price for the atrocities it imposes on the Palestinians”.

As per the statement, Erdogan also called for an urgent and permanent ceasefire and raised the issue of humanitarian assistance.

Turkey’s long relations with Hamas

Hamas has had long association with Turkey. The terrorist group has had an office in the country since 2011 when Turkey helped secure the agreement for the group to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, according to AFP.

The news agency further reported that Erdogan has maintained links with Haniyeh. The report added that he has been a frequent visitor to Turkey.

As Qatar has said it will reassess its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, it is expected that Turkey could seek to assert itself as a central player in the negotiations if Qatar withdraws, according to the report.

So far, however, Erdogan has failed to establish a foothold as a mediator, noted the report.

Erdogan can, however, only expect a “very limited” role because of his outspoken condemnation of Israel and its actions in Gaza, said Sinan Ciddi, a Turkey specialist at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), to AFP.

Since the outbreak of the war, Erdogan has emerged as a leading critic of Israel. He has termed the country a “terrorist state” and has equated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler over the war in Gaza.

Ciddi was further quoted as saying that Erdogan would not be welcome in Israel and at most might be able to pass messages between Palestinian and Israel negotiators.