Turkey cannot mediate an Israel-Hamas hostage deal, Israeli sources say – Israel News

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Turkey cannot broker a hostage deal in Gaza, Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post after KAN News reported that several Hamas leaders had been to Turkey.

“I don’t know of any Turkish involvement, and I don’t think there could be,” a source told the Post.Qatar, along with Egypt, have been the main brokers of a deal to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages, along with help from the United States.

Negotiations have been largely frozen since Hamas executed six of the hostages in late August, including Israeli-American prisoner Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Donald Trump’s re-election to the US presidency on November 5 has made it more difficult for Biden officials to have the leverage needed to strike a deal as President Joe Biden is set to leave the White House on January 20.

Hopes were briefly raised last month that talks could resume in the wake of the Israeli assassination of Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 20, 2024. (Credit: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS)

Hamas rejected all offers

US officials said last week that Hamas had rejected all offers, including a mini-deal designed as a confidence-building measure in the face of a larger one.

Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Israel Katz held a consultation regarding the hostages with IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Chief Ronen Bar, IDF Maj. Gen. (res.)

Nitzan Alon, Director General of the Ministry of Defence, Major General. (ret.) Eyal Zamir, and the coordinator of the hostages and the missing Brig.-Gen. (res.) Mad Hirsch.

Hamas official Basem Naim told Sky News over the weekend that “we are ready to release all these captured Israelis” if they would exchange Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The last brokered deal was in July, but since then there have been “no serious proposals,” Naim said.

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Hamas has generally insisted that Israel must end the war and fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip before it will consider a deal. Israel has insisted it is capable of continuing its military campaign.

“We are ready immediately for a ceasefire to end this war to go to a serious prisoner exchange,” Naim said. Qatar, in response, suspended its participation in the hostage negotiations until Israel and Hamas were serious about a deal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed last week that Qatar has also asked the Hamas leadership to leave, a move the US has sought as a pressure tactic to help force a deal.

Qatar had argued that its power to mediate came from Hamas’ presence in the country and has not publicly acknowledged that it asked Hamas to leave.

KAN News on Monday sparked speculation about Turkey’s involvement in the mediation when it reported that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey.

A Turkish diplomatic source on Monday dismissed reports that Hamas had moved its political office to Turkey from Qatar, adding that members of the Palestinian militant group visited the country only occasionally.

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel over its offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Some Hamas political officials regularly visit Turkey.

Early in the Gaza war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had proposed acting as a mediator. Turkey has previously played that role for Israel, but the high level of tension between Ankara and Jerusalem makes it difficult for Israel to imagine Turkey in that role.

Reuters contributed to this report.