Turkish sources deny that Hamas moved its office to the country

On November 19, 2024By Littum

Sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday denied reports that the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas moved its offices to Türkiye. Sources quoted by media said members of the movement occasionally visited the country.

Rumors of the creation of the office by Hamas political bureau members followed Qatar’s recent announcement that it would suspend its role as a mediator in the Palestine-Israel conflict unless the parties showed willingness to continue negotiations. However, Doha denied that Hamas members in the country were expelled.

Turkey is among the few countries that recognize Hamas as a liberation and resistance movement, unlike supporters of Israel who see them as terrorists.

Senior Hamas officials made high-profile visits to the country in the past, although no high-profile visit was reported in recent months. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan famously hosted late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last year in an attempt to reconcile Palestinian factions. In August, Erdoğan also received Haniyeh’s sons after the latter’s assassination in Iran.

Ceasefire talks have been stalled for months as both sides failed to find common ground as Israel vowed to continue its attacks on Palestinian territories to fully eradicate Hamas. Turkey, for its part, favors a lasting solution to the conflict that would give the Palestinians a sovereign, independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, a state based on the borders the Palestinians had before the 1967 war.