The leader of the radical Islamist Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), the political arm of Kurdish Hizbullah and an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has met with the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.
Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu’s meeting with Haniyeh was announced by the party on X on Sunday.
HÜDA-PAR said Yapıcıoğlu and Haniyeh exchanged ideas during the meeting regarding the steps that should be taken against “the brutality and genocide carried out in Gaza by the occupying Israel.”
Genel Başkanımız Sayın Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, HAMAS Siyasi Büro Başkanı Sayın İsmail Heniyye ile görüştü.
Görüşmede, işgalci israilin Gazze’de uyguladığı vahşet ve soykırıma karşı atılması gereken adımlara ilişkin fikir alışverişinde bulunuldu.#HÜDAPAR pic.twitter.com/jAVTd4jfLf
— HÜDA PAR (@HurDavaPartisi) February 4, 2024
According to Turkish media reports, HÜDA-PAR also discussed the content of the meeting in a written statement, without providing information about its location or time.
The statement said Haniyeh briefed Yapıcıoğlu on the current situation in Gaza, emphasizing the importance of delivering humanitarian aid and ensuring the treatment of the injured. He also highlighted the significance of mass events supporting Gaza and the continuation of the global boycott.
Yapıcıoğlu said his party would continue to provide any kind of support it could for Gaza.
Founded in 2012 on the ashes of the outlawed Kurdish Hizbullah, an extremist Sunni group that emerged in southeastern Turkey in 1985, HÜDA-PAR won four seats in the Turkish parliament in the May elections, thanks to its alliance with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
According to a Sunday article in the Washington-based Al-Monitor, Haniyeh was in Istanbul on Oct. 7, contradicting previous reports that he was in his office in Doha, Qatar.
Two different sources told Al-Monitor that Haniyeh was politely sent away after footage circulated on social media showing him and other Hamas members prostrating themselves in a “prayer of gratitude” while watching news of the incursion on television.
The sources said Ankara politely asked Haniyeh and his entourage to leave Turkey, unwilling to appear to still be protecting Hamas after the group’s killing of Israeli civilians.
Erdoğan’s communications directorate denied the claims, but did not make clear whether Haniyeh, who is frequently hosted by Erdoğan, was in Turkey on the day of the attack.
Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people, both civilians and soldiers, according to Israeli authorities. It was the deadliest attack by militants in Israel’s 75-year history.
Turkey, which supports the Palestinian cause, does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization, and Hamas leaders and militants are known to enjoy a safe haven in Turkey.
Haniyeh lives part-time in Turkey. There are unverified claims that he and his son have Turkish passports.