The Turkish president expressed his hope to Hamas leaders that the current ceasefire with Israel moves to the second and third phase
Soldecanarias.net / Adeje
The president of Turkey, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, received in Ankara a high delegation of the Islamist movement Hamas, led by the head of the group’s shura council, Mohamed Darwish.
The Hamas delegation, considered a terrorist group by several countries, informed the Turkish president of the results of his recent visit to Cairo and his meetings with the security services and with the head of the Egyptian intelligence services, Hassan Rashad, reported a Hamas source.
Erdogan, for his part, assured that «the spirit of resistance» of Hamas would not be lost after 471 days of fighting in Gaza, the Turkish Anadolu agency reported, citing sources from the Turkish Presidency.
He also reportedly promised the Palestinian delegation that Turkey would continue to «explain the truth» about Gaza and support its population, while expressing hope that the current ceasefire would move to the second and third phases.
According to Anadolu, the meeting was also attended along with Erdogan by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, the head of the secret services, Ibrahim Kalin, and the head of presidential communications, Fahrettin Altun.
War in Gaza
Meanwhile, the Palestinian delegation included Khalil al-Haya, head of Hamas in Gaza, Zaher Jabarin, head in the West Bank, and Khaled Meshaal, head abroad.
Turkey, which for decades was an important trading partner and political ally of Israel, suspended diplomatic relations and the export of goods to Israel in the wake of its offensive against Hamas in the Strip.
The Gaza War was sparked by Hamas’ terrorist offensive in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, with some 1,200 Israelis killed and some 250 kidnapped.
In response, the Israeli Army launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months that left more than 47,000 dead, according to figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Erdogan, who considers Hamas a «national liberation» movement, insists that the only solution to the conflict is to establish a Palestinian state next to Israel, on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
