Turkey courts Hamas despite US pressure

Adnan Abu Amer

Sep 3, 2020

The Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in front of the lawmakers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party at the Parliament in Ankara on January 3, 2012. Haniyeh's visit was a show of solidarity with the Islamic aid group IHH, which had planned to send the Mavi Marmara vessel with another Gaza flotilla last year but then dropped the plan. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty — Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in front of lawmakers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 3, 2012. — ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

The relationship between Hamas and Turkey has recently witnessed political and media developments, in tandem with accelerating regional events, in both the internal Palestinian arena and Turkey’s regional policy.

Most recently, the US State Department issued Aug. 25 a statement read by its spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, lashing out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent meeting with Hamas officials in Istanbul.