Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday he will host Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Turkey this weekend, Agence France-Presse reported.
“The leader of the Palestinian cause will be my guest this weekend,” Erdoğan, an outspoken critic of Israel, told lawmakers.
Private television channel NTV reported that the two men would meet on Saturday at Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul.
Their last meeting was in July 2023, when Erdoğan hosted Haniyeh at the presidential palace in Ankara along with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.
Erdoğan has been one of the strongest critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, sparked by the militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The attack claimed 1,170 lives, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show, as well as the taking of some 250 hostages.
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, mostly women and children.
The Turkish leader has forged friendly ties with Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar.
Erdoğan last week offered Haniyeh condolences for the death of his three sons and some of his grandchildren in an Israeli strike in Gaza.
Erdoğan has called Israel a “terrorist state” and accused it of conducting a “genocide” in Gaza. He has called Hamas “liberators” or “mujahideen” fighting for their land.
