The president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoganhas reiterated this Saturday that he does not consider “terrorist” to the Islamist militia Hamas nor see “realistic” eradicate it, to which the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohenhas responded by proposing that it welcome those of its members who flee from Loop.
“Whatever they say, I can’t accept that Hamas be a terrorist group. It is above all a reality of Palestinea political party that has run for office and won“Erdogan told the press on the plane in which he returned this morning COP28 summit in Qatar.
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“Excluding Hamas, eradicating Hamas, is not a realistic scenario“added the Turkish president, who reiterated his position that the conflict must be resolved by establishing a Palestinian State alongside Israel.
“If we were to focus on the two-state solution, the issue of the threat of Loop would disappear”Erdogan told reporters on the plane, according to the Turkish Anadolu agency.
Cohen responded shortly later through a message on the X network, formerly Twitter, that Israel “will liberate Gaza from Hamas, for Israel’s security and to create a better future for the region’s inhabitants”.
“The terrorist organization Hamas-ISIS will not exist in Gaza the next day“wrote Cohen, who used a formula already common in Israel to express a supposed closeness between the Palestinian militia and the Islamic State (EI).
“You, Presidency of Türkiyethey may very well welcome into their country Hamas terrorists who are not eliminated and who flee from Gaza”, concluded the minister.
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The Turkish government has often been close to Hamas, but always seeking a mediating role in the Palestinian conflict and affirming its commitment to the two-state solution.
Turkey is a historic ally of Israel, and although relations have deteriorated since Erdogan came to power in 2002, with two periods of rupture in the last decade, the two countries reestablished full diplomatic relations last year, with presidential visits and plans for close cooperation.
After the Hamas attack against Israeli territory, the past October 7Erdogan denounced the Israeli response of massive bombings on Gaza as “war crime” and Israel withdrew its ambassador at the end of October.
