Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh will meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday, with Middle East tensions at a high after Israel’s reported attack on Iran and Gaza bracing for a new Israeli offensive, Agence France-Presse reported.
Erdoğan has sought but failed to establish a foothold as a mediator in the Palestinian conflict. And he has remained discreet about his meetings with the Hamas leader.
“We will keep the agenda just between us and Mr Haniyeh,” Erdoğan said when questioned by journalists on Friday.
An official source said the pair would meet at Dolmabahçe Palace on the banks of the Bosporus at 2:00 p.m. (1100 GMT). Hamas, meanwhile, said in a statement that the war in Gaza would figure in the talks.
With Qatar saying it will reassess its role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel, Erdoğan sent Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Doha on Wednesday in a new sign that he wants a role.
“Even if only I, Tayyip Erdoğan, remain, I will continue as long as God gives me life, to defend the Palestinian struggle and to be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people,” the president said Wednesday when he announced Hamiyeh’s upcoming visit.
Hamas has had an office in Turkey since 2011, when Turkey helped secure the agreement for the group to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Erdoğan has maintained links with Haniyeh, who has been a frequent visitor.
Fidan was the past head of Turkish intelligence, at a time when the country provided information and passports to Hamas officials, including Haniyeh, according to Sinan Ciddi, a Turkey specialist at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C. This has never been confirmed by Turkish authorities, however.
Erdoğan slams Israel
If Qatar withdraws from mediation efforts, Turkey could seek to increase its mediation profile, based on its Hamas links, and Fidan will on Saturday have talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Israel has said it is preparing for an offensive against the Gaza city of Rafah, and the recent Israeli attack on the Iranian province of Isfahan has only clouded hopes of a peace breakthrough.
But Erdoğan can only expect a “very limited” role because of his outspoken condemnation of Israel and its actions in Gaza, according to Ciddi.
Last year, the Turkish leader likened the tactics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and called Israel a “terrorist state” because of its offensive against Hamas after the militant group’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
Ciddi said Erdoğan would not be welcome in Israel and at most might be able to pass messages between Palestinian and Israel negotiators.
The expert said Turkey would not have a major influence, either, over Hamas in deciding the fate of the hostages it has held since October 7.
The Hamas attacks resulted in the death of 1,170 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The militants also took some 250 hostages. Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children. according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry.
According to press reports that have never been denied, Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders were in İstanbul when the attacks were launched. They were requested to quietly leave the country after a photo showed them celebrating the deadly assault, the report said.
Haniyeh returned to Turkey in January and met with Fidan.
The Hamas chief has not met with Erdoğan since he and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas had talks with the Turkish president in July 2023.