Turkey welcomes Hamas leader amid growing criticism over inaction in Gaza

Istanbul/Washington

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and his delegation in Istanbul last weekend, amid growing criticism in Turkey of his government's stance on the war between Israel and Hamas.

There was no press conference after the meeting. Erdogan's office issued a statement on the topics discussed with Haniyeh, who lives in exile in Qatar.

According to the statement, Erdogan and the Hamas leader discussed “Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territory, in particular Gaza, what must be done to ensure adequate and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as a process of just and lasting peace in the region. “

Erdogan also stressed the importance of Palestinians acting in unity, which he called “the most robust response to Israel and the path to victory is through unity and integrity.”

In a separate statement, Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) revealed that a Hamas delegation, including key members of the militant group, was present at the meeting.

Haniyeh's visit comes at a time when Erdogan's stance on the war between Israel and Hamas and his support for the Palestinian people have been questioned by the Islamist New Welfare Party, which came third nationally in the elections local news from last month.

On April 9, the Turkish Ministry of Commerce announced restrictions on the export of several groups of products to Israel in response to growing calls for a boycott in Turkey.

Some analysts believe the meeting between Erdogan and Haniyeh is aimed at consolidating his base.

“The AKP and Erdogan have been very exhausted recently regarding the Palestinian issue after it was revealed that there was trade with Israel,” Erhan Kelesoglu, an Istanbul-based Middle East expert, told VOA .

“The meeting with Hamas leaders actually allows the president [Erdogan] with the possibility of refreshing its image in front of the public. This shows that he is behind the Palestinian cause and Hamas,” Kelesoglu added.

On April 17, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Doha, Qatar, where he met with Haniyeh.

Later, in a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Fidan said Hamas had accepted the creation of a Palestinian state with the 1967 borders.

“They told me that after the creation of the Palestinian state, Hamas would no longer need an armed wing and that it would continue to be a political party,” Fidan said.

Some experts view Ankara's recent involvement alongside Hamas as an intention to play a mediating role.

Turkey intends to reassert its influence in the region by playing a mediating role, especially since Qatar's mediation capacity is reaching its limits, and Turkey has recently emerged as one of the intermediary countries in the relations with Iran, Evren Balta, a non-resident researcher at the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington, wrote in a analysis for the MEI blog.

However, it is unlikely that Israel or the United States would accept the role Turkey wishes to play or view the dissolution of Hamas' military wing as a sufficient step to engage with the organization, Balta added.

Israel's reaction

After the April 20 meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz shared a photo of Erdogan shaking hands with Haniyeh on his X account.

“Erdogan, shame on you,” Katz wrote in a message in Turkish. He also listed his allegations of “rapes, murders and desecration of corpses” committed by “the Muslim Brotherhood”.

Hamas shares the Islamist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Erdogan's AKP has also supported in the past.

Oncu Keceli, spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, reacted to Katz's statement on X by saying: “It is the Israeli authorities who should be ashamed. They massacred nearly 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

“Trkiye's priority is to end the massacre in Gaza and create a Palestinian state to guarantee lasting peace in our region,” Keceli added.

More than 34,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, since the start of the war in Gaza last October.

Comparison with the Turkish militia

On April 17, during a meeting of the ruling AKP parliamentary group, Erdogan accused critics of his handling of the Israel-Gaza war of slandering him, his party, his government and the Turkish Republic.

“Some of our measures may not be visible. We may not be able to explain some of our actions. However, those who question our sensitivity towards Palestine will sooner or later be embarrassed and disgraced,” Erdogan said.

“I say it very clearly and openly: Hamas is the same as Kuva-yi Milliye in Turkey during the war of independence,” Erdogan added.

He also called Hamas “a group of mujahideen fighting a battle to protect its lands and its people” after the October 7 attack. Mujahideen is an Arabic word for those who fight for Islam.

The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Kuva-yi Milliye, founded in 1918, is the name of the Turkish militia that fought in the early days of Turkey's War of Independence and was later organized under the command of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey .

Erdogan's statement sparked debate in Turkey, with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) rejecting such similarity between Turkish national forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“Identifying Hamas with Kuva-yi Milliye means that “the Palestinian cause began with Hamas.” However, everyone knows very well that the [Palestinian] the struggle is one that has been going on for decades. And it certainly didn’t start with Hamas,” Oguz Kaan Salici, a CHP lawmaker in Istanbul and a member of the Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told VOA.

The CHP calls for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.