The information suggesting that Hamas opened an office of the terrorist group in Turkey was strongly denied by a source close to the Turkish diplomatic services, who added that the members of the group were content to make trips to the country of from time to time.
A reaction which followed the confidences made on Sunday by an Arab diplomat from Times of Israëlwhich reported that senior members of Hamas who were living in Qatar left the emirate last week for Turkey. The departure came after Doha announced its withdrawal from negotiations aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Gaza as part of a deal that would have opened the way for the release of Israeli hostages, talks where the country played an intermediary role.
The Arab diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, downplayed the importance of this expulsion of members of the terrorist group’s politburo, stressing that the Hamas leadership already spent a lot of time in Turkey when it was not organizing meetings in Qatar.
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The departure of members of the Hamas political bureau from Doha was first announced by the Israeli public channel Kann.
On November 8, the United States revealed that it had asked Qatar to expel Hamas officials residing there – the terrorist group had an office open in the emirate since 2012, an opening that reportedly occurred on the request from Washington, the United States being keen to preserve a channel of communication with the organization if necessary. The Biden administration said it had requested that Hamas officials be expelled after the latter repeatedly rejected the proposed agreements submitted to them and after the execution of six hostages within the coastal enclave. – an American national was among them.
Twenty-four hours later, Qatar announced that it was renouncing its role as mediator in the talks and a diplomat declared to Times of Israel that Doha had asked Hamas leaders to leave the territory at the end of October, although no timetable had been specified at the time.
Doha had stressed, at that time, that its decision would not necessarily be permanent and that it was possible that Qatar would resume its role of intermediary if the two parties in the contest showed the desire to conduct talks in good faith in view of a ceasefire, which would allow the hostages to be released.
According to the diplomat who spoke at the time, Qatar alone decided to expel the terrorist group’s senior leaders after determining that neither party was willing to seriously pursue negotiations.
Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar’s ruler since 2013, left, meets with Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, right, and Khaled Mashal in Doha, October 17, 2017. (Qatar government handout)
Turkey is a convenient option for Hamas as the families of many of the terrorist group’s diaspora leaders already live there.
However, by officially welcoming leading members of Hamas, Ankara would risk creating tensions with the Biden administration which had indicated, at the beginning of the month, that none of its allies should take the initiative of offering a asylum to the terrorist group. A positioning which should not be more flexible when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Ankara has played a symbolic role in the hostage talks so far given its long-standing ties to Hamas officials. It is difficult to say whether Turkey will now play a more important role in the negotiations after Qatar’s withdrawal.
Following the death of Hamas leader in Gaza, Yayha Sinwar, in mid-October – he was killed by the Israeli army – the United States expressed its hopes of finally seeing progress in discussions in the as they saw Sinwar as the main obstacle to finalizing a deal.
Qatar and Egypt, the Arab mediators, had submitted a different point of view. While they recognized Sinwar’s uncompromising positions, they felt that the talks would become more difficult without centralized leadership at the head of the terrorist group, Arab and American officials told the Times of Israel.
Arab mediators place more blame on Israel for failed negotiations, noting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to accept ideas of open-ended ceasefire and full troop withdrawal , even in exchange for all the hostages who are still held captive in Gaza. In July, the prime minister added new conditions as part of a truce agreement after Hamas, for its part, gave the green light to most of the proposal presented to it.
Protesters stand next to a banner reading “You will not return home before the hostages,” calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem , November 17, 2024. (Credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Netanyahu’s critics have accused him of prioritizing his own political survival over the lives of the hostages, with his far-right coalition partners threatening to overthrow the government if he accepts proposals that been submitted so far.
Others have said that the offers that have been made to date are insufficient to meet the demands of the Jewish state and that they would leave Hamas intact – which would continue to pose the threat emanating from from Gaza to southern Israel.
Netanyahu met with government ministers and senior security officials on Sunday evening to discuss the hostage crisis. Security leaders planned to tell him that Israel would need to show more flexibility in talks to release the hostages, the conditions of which are harsh.
According to a poll that was broadcast by the N12 news channel last week, 69% of Israelis said they supported a captives deal that would end the war in Gaza. 20% of respondents, on the other hand, say they favor the continuation of the fighting.
97 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 are believed to still be in Gaza – including the bodies of at least 34 people whose deaths have been confirmed by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a week-long truce at the end of November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages were rescued alive by troops. The remains of 37 hostages were also found – including three who had been accidentally killed by the army while trying to escape their captors.
Hamas also holds two Israeli civilians who voluntarily entered the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two Israeli army soldiers who were killed in 2014.
