Erdogan and Haniyeh shake hands

The reception of the senior political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, personally by Turkish PM Recep Erdogan was regarded as yet another anti-Israel move in Tel Aviv. The meeting was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The Hamas leader thanked the Turkish PM for his support and said that the main problem of the Palestinians today is the ousting of Arab inhabitants from Jerusalem. (The Israeli authorities lament the preponderance of the Arab population in the Holy City). Erdogan promised to grant all necessary support to the Palestinians in order to ensure the safety of Muslim sacred places in Jerusalem. He also stressed that Turkey will continue to demand that Hamas be accepted as a rightful participant of the Israeli-Palestinian settlement. The PM also praised the process of Palestinian consolidation and expressed his hope that in future the Palestinians will create their state based on the principles of true democracy.

Mr Haniyeh also met with the members of the IHH organization that organized the ‘Freedom for Gaza’ Flotilla and the families of the flotilla members who died in the shootout with Israeli border guards. After that he held a press-conference during which he said that after the ‘Mavi-Mara’ tragedy Palestinians and Turkish people became blood-brothers and swore that Hamas won’t abandon its quest of returning Jerusalem.
Israeli officials rated these events as a ‘festival of terrorism’. Israeli FM spokesman reminded that the Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the EU, and usually officials of all the countries that distance themselves from Islam terrorism avoid contacting Hamas members, not to mention high receptions. Therefore, according to the Israeli officials, this handshaking between Erdogan and Haniyeh damage Turkey's image on an international scale.

By Peter Lukimson, exclusively to VK