Palestinian resistance group leader to visit Türkiye, says Erdogan

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hamas leader Haniyeh to hold talks on April 20 at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, according to media reports

The head of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, will visit Türkiye and hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 20. “The leader of the Palestinian cause will be my guest this weekend,” Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel’s conflict in Gaza, told lawmakers Wednesday.

“Even if only I, Tayyip Erdogan, remain, I will continue as long as God gives me my life, to defend the Palestinian struggle and to be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people,” the president said, calling Hamas a “resistance group.”

Erdogan did not say where he would meet the Hamas political leader, but NTV television reported they would hold talks on Saturday at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.

Their last meeting was in July 2023 when Erdogan hosted Haniyeh and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas at the presidential palace in Ankara.

However, the government said that Haniyeh met Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Türkiye on Jan. 2.

Erdogan has been one of the strongest critics of Israel since the start of the Gaza war, sparked by the militant group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The attack claimed 1,170 lives, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Hamas also seized hostages, many of whom are believed to be still in Gaza.

Israel has responded with a ground and air offensive that the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said has killed at least 33,899 people, primarily women and children.

Qatar, a mediator between Israel and Hamas, acknowledged Wednesday that negotiations to cease hostilities in Gaza and liberate hostages were “stalling.”

Last week, Erdogan offered Haniyeh, 62, condolences for the death of his three sons and some of his grandchildren in an Israeli strike in Gaza.

Erdogan has called Israel a “terrorist state” and accused it of conducting a “genocide” in Gaza.

Source: AFP