Turkey - HAMAS Relations
Addressing AK Party’s parliamentary group meeting 25 October 2023, President Erdogan said: “We, together with our humanitarian, political and military presence, stand ready to be one of the guarantors of the Palestinian side. We call on all the countries with goodwill and determination to assess our offer, take concrete steps and open the doors to peace as soon as possible.”
Addressing AK Party’s parliamentary group meeting 25 October 2023, President Erdogan said: "The entire West sees Hamas as a terrorist organization. I call on Israel: You can be an organization, because the West owes a lot to you, but Türkiye owes you nothing. Hamas is not a terrorist organization; it is a group of liberation and mujahedeen fighting to defend its lands and citizens.”
Erdogan stressed: “Obviously, the ultimate resolution is to establish a sovereign and independent State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds as its capital, which will be recognized by the entire world. To achieve this, first of all, the Palestinian people should ensure unity and solidarity among themselves and act as a whole. What will complement this will to be displayed by the Palestinian people is the necessary material and emotional support to be provided by the Arab world in order for this state to survive.”
President Erdogan's statements "Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a group of mujahideen fighting to protect their lands" and "I will not go to Israel" were widely covered in the world media.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs issued a detailed report in 2021 documenting how Turkey contributes to Hamas’ military empowerment: "Hamas’s Istanbul headquarters has directed hundreds of terror attacks against Israelis and laundered millions of dollars. Turkey collaborates with terror organizations on both the ideological and operational levels. Terrorists working on Turkish soil establish infrastructures and plan terror attacks against Israel. Hamas senior officials (most former inmates in Israel for terrorism who were released in a prisoner exchange) are operating from Turkey against Israel. Some have even been granted Turkish citizenship. Besides hosting Hamas offices and senior officials who planned terror attacks, Turkey has also become a safe haven for Hamas’s financial affairs, including funding terror organizations in the West Bank."
The report concluded, “Ten years is a sufficient period to study Turkey’s behavior with regard to Hamas. The facts are clear. There is no gray area; the picture is black-and-white. The Hamas terror organization is hosted on Turkish soil, and from there, it directs, with the knowledge of the Turkish authorities, terror operations against Israel.”
Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack has fundamentally changed the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in various aspects, with Tel Aviv launching a cruel military campaign that has brutalised Gaza's civilians. Tel Aviv has faced a severe backlash from global audiences, which have largely sided with Palestinians subjected to a seemingly indiscriminate Israeli bombing campaign.
On 25 August 2020 the Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State released an "impertinent" statement regarding the meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the Hamas representatives. "Branding as a terrorist the legitimate representative of Hamas, which has come to power in Gaza through democratic elections and which constitutes an important reality of the region, will not contribute to efforts geared towards peace and stability in the region. Moreover, a country which openly supports the PKK, that features on their list of terrorist organizations and hosts the ringleader of the FETO has no right whatsoever to say anything to third countries on this subject.
"The US Administration designated Hamas, which is also a party to the intra-Palestinian reconciliation process, as a terrorist organization, and subsequently closed the office of Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington DC. By doing so, the U.S. Administration has severed its contact with all Palestinian authorities and the people of Palestine, thereby demonstrating the extent to which it has isolated itself from the realities of our region.
"Taking this opportunity, we call upon the U.S. Administration to sincerely work towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of international law, justice and equity by pursuing balanced policies, instead of using its power and influence in the region to serve the interests of Israel rather exclusively."
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