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National day of mourning in Turkey for Hamas chief sparks diplomatic crisis, criticism

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The declaration of a national day of mourning for Ismail Haniyeh, the now-deceased political chief of Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Turkey on Friday has unsettled some circles in the country while sparking a diplomatic crisis with Israel due to the lowering of the Turkish flag at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who used to frequently host Haniyeh in Turkey and called him a “brother,” announced on X on Thursday day that a national day of mourning would be observed on Friday “in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters” over Haniyeh’s assassination.

Haniyeh was killed along with his bodyguard in a pre-dawn strike on their accommodation in Tehran early Wednesday, an attack that has been blamed on Israel.

When a day of national mourning is announced, Turkish flags are lowered to half-mast in official buildings in Turkey and its representative offices abroad.

The Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv also lowered the Turkish flag to half-staff, sparking an angry reaction from Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

Katz said on X on Friday that he instructed ministry officials to summon the deputy Turkish ambassador to Israel for “a severe reprimand” following the lowering of the Turkish flag to half-mast at the Turkish Embassy, in response to the killing of Haniyeh.

“The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh, who led Hamas in committing the atrocities on October 7th and prayed with his associates, wishing success to the murderers while watching the horrific images on television,” Katz said, referring to the unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel, which left around 1,200 people dead and sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, which has led to the death of more than 39,000 people, mostly civilians.

Katz also accused President Erdoğan of supporting Hamas and “its acts of murder and terror” and said if the embassy representatives want to mourn, they should go to Turkey and “mourn alongside their master, Erdogan.”

Hamas is viewed by the United States, the European Union and Israel as a terrorist organization, but Erdoğan calls it “a liberation movement.”

Haniyeh, who spent much time in Turkey before the October 7 attacks launched by Hamas on Israel, last paid a visit to Erdoğan in İstanbul in April.

Öncü Keçeli, the spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, was quick to counter Katz’s criticism on X on Friday, saying that Israel “cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators and threatening diplomats,” referring to Haniyeh’s role as a top negotiator for Hamas to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli minister of national security, was also frustrated with the lowering of the Turkish flag to half-mast at the Turkish Embassy. He tweeted that representatives of the Turkish Embassy in Israel are invited to take down the flag completely and return home, while calling the action “shameful.”

Criticism at home

Erdoğan also received criticism at home for his declaration of a national day of mourning for Haniyeh since the slain Hamas chief was not liked by some in Turkey who see Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Leader of the nationalist İYİ (Good) Party Müsavat Dervişoğlu said on X that declaration of a national day of mourning for Haniyeh is an “imposition” on the Turkish nation, and thus “unacceptable.”

He said states have traditions and that a national day of mourning cannot be declared arbitrarily by the president.

“I strongly reject the watering down of some important concepts at the hands of the state,” said Dervişoğlu.

The far-right Victory Party (ZP) was also disturbed by the declaration of the national day of mourning for Haniyeh, saying it can only be a day of mourning for some of the high-ranking Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials who back Hamas.

The party blamed Hamas for the massive devastation and “genocide” in Gaza by giving an opportunity to the “fanatic [Benjamin Netanyahu government] with its October 7 attack.

Journalist Banu Güven said supporting the Palestinian cause and condemning the Israeli actions in Gaza have nothing to do with declaring a national day of mourning for someone about whose legacy there is no national consensus in Turkey.

“One is about universal values, the other is ideological and oppressive,“ said Güven on X.

Exiled journalist Abdülhamit Bilici, the former editor-in-chief of the now-closed Zaman daily, accused Erdoğan of hypocrisy given the fact that he reconciled with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who toppled Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.

Morsi was also an ally of Erdoğan.

He also criticized Erdoğan for allowing Azeri oil to be transported to Israel from the port of Ceyhan in southern Turkey when Gaza was being bombed by Israeli forces.

“The person who said great things about Morsi, hugged Sisi after making lots of rabia signs, and sent fuel for the jets bombing Gaza from Yumurtalık without any delay, declared mourning for Hamas leader Haniyeh. Damn your lie! Anyone who still takes such a person seriously is crazy!“ said the journalist.

Funeral prayers for Haniyeh

Meanwhile, funeral prayers were held for Haniyeh in all the mosques across Turkey following Friday prayers in line with an announcement made by the Religious Affairs Directorate on Thursday.

Professor Ali Erbaş, president of the directorate, was at Hagia Sophia in İstanbul, an iconic Byzantine era church that was converted into a mosque despite international outrage in 2020, where he attended funeral prayers for Haniyeh on Friday.

Professor Ali Erbaş

Before the prayers, Erbaş delivered a sermon while holding a sword in his hand.

According to Erbaş, who has delivered sermons at Hagia Sophia holding a sword several times since its conversion, the sword symbolizes the conquest of İstanbul by the Ottomans in 1453.

“Giving sermons with a sword is part of our tradition and a common practice. The first Friday sermon was given by an imam holding a sword right after the conquest of İstanbul,” Erbaş said following his first such sermon in August 2020.

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