{"id":69152,"date":"2013-04-05T12:28:44","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T09:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=69152"},"modified":"2014-01-08T02:28:41","modified_gmt":"2014-01-08T00:28:41","slug":"turkish-pm-prepares-to-meet-with-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2013\/04\/05\/turkish-pm-prepares-to-meet-with-hamas\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish PM prepares to meet with Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turkish PM prepares to meet with terrorist group in Gaza Strip<\/span><\/p>\n

BY: Adam Kredo<\/p>\n

April 4, 2013 8:59 am<\/p>\n

\"Turkey's
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh \/ AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is preparing to meet the Hamas government in Gaza, a move that could further inflame regional tensions.<\/p>\n

Preparations for the visit come as Secretary of State John Kerry\u00a0returns\u00a0to the Middle East this weekend to patch up relations between Turkey and Israel.\u00a0Kerry will spend Saturday visiting Israel, the West Bank, and Turkey as he seeks to find common ground between skeptical Middle East leaders, according to reports.<\/p>\n

Erdogan\u2019s trip will follow a tenuous diplomatic breakthrough between the Islamist Turkish prime minister and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently apologized to Erdogan for a deadly 2010 incident between the two nations that claimed the lives of eight Turks.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear just how much headway Kerry will be able to make given Erdogan\u2019s hesitance to embrace Israel fully\u00a0and back away from his support for Iran and Hamas, according regional experts.<\/p>\n

Erdogan has long acted as one of Hamas\u2019s top cheerleaders, leading the charge to legitimize the terrorist group. The relationship blossomed long before the deadly 2010 flotilla raid harmed relations between Turkey and Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis certainly didn\u2019t start with the flotilla,\u201d said David Pollock, a former Middle East adviser at the State Department. \u201cIt goes back not only longer, but deeper because support for Hamas is not just against Israel but is in line with Erdogan\u2019s overall Muslim Brotherhood orientation, his Islamic orientation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question that I would ask is not only why does Erdogan support Hamas against Israel but also support Hamas against the Palestinian Authority and [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas,\u201d said Pollock, who currently serves as a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.<\/p>\n

The PA has opposed Erdogan\u2019s planned trip to Israel, claiming it will only \u201cdeepen divisions among the Palestinians,\u201d according to regional media reports.<\/p>\n

Erdogan announced he would visit Gaza and Hamas after Netanyahu offered his apology, leading State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell to express \u201cdeep concern\u201d during a press briefing on March 27.<\/p>\n

Erdogan, recently dubbed by President Barack Obama as one of his top five international friends, is attempting to consolidate power by appealing to all sides, experts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe tries to play both sides,\u201d Pollock said. \u201cHe patched things up supposedly with Netanyahu on Obama\u2019s recent visit [to Israel], but he continues to show support for Hamas. It\u2019s possible in his mind he actually believes Hamas can be brought around to accept peace with Israel, but if he does, it isn\u2019t true. There\u2019s a real contradiction here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erdogan has said he is Hamas\u2019 champion, even claiming in the past that he wants to \u201crepresent Hamas on international platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Turkish prime minister remains committed to engaging Hamas at every opportunity despite its ongoing terrorist activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not be squeezing them into the corner,\u201d he said in a 2009 speech before the European Union.<\/p>\n

Erdogan has even vowed to personally escort any flotilla that seeks to break Israel\u2019s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip\u2014a promise that was made well after the deadly 2010 incident.<\/p>\n

Hamas leaders also view Erdogan as a top ally.<\/p>\n

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh named his grandson after Erdogan so that the Turkish leader\u2019s name \u201creverberated on every tongue\u201d in the Gaza Strip, according to a 2010 report in Today\u2019s Zaman.<\/p>\n

Erdogan and Hamas have rallied around their opposition to Israel.<\/p>\n

Erdogan has dubbed Israeli military operations against Hamas fighters \u201cstate terror.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Israel launched its 2008 military incursion into Gaza to combat ongoing terrorist rocket attacks, Erdogan described it as \u201can act of disrespect toward Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crucial break point for Erdogan in this area was not the flotilla, but the Gaza war in December of \u201908,\u201d said Pollock. \u201cThat was the turning point. He took it very personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamas attacks on Israel are justified in Erdogan\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not think that Hamas is a terrorist organization,\u201d he said in April 2010, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. \u201cI said the same thing to the United States. I am still of the same opinion. They are Palestinians in resistance, fighting for their own land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erdogan\u2019s recent bid to soften tensions with Israel are aimed at boosting his own image, according to Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).<\/p>\n

\u201cTurkish officials are of the belief that, \u2018We are going act as a mediator that is going to lead the [peace] process,\u2019\u201d Badran said. \u201cThat\u2019s how they\u2019re putting it out. He\u2019s trying to raise the profile of Turkey as a mediator once again, specifically using\u00a0the Palestinians as a platform\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States has been left with few diplomatic options given the regional climate.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically, we have to deal with this guy,\u201d said Pollock. \u201cHe\u2019s in charge of a very, very important country for the region and for us. I think he has his mishegas [craziness], but he\u2019s demonstrated that he can be quite pragmatic toward us and even toward Israel. We have to make the best of not a great situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

This entry was posted in Middle East and tagged Hamas, Israel, John Kerry, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey. Bookmark the permalink.<\/p>\n

via Turkish PM prepares to meet with Hamas | Washington Free Beacon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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