ANKARA — A Turkish diplomatic source on Monday rejected allegations that Hamas’ political bureau has relocated to Turkey.
“Members of Hamas’ political bureau occasionally visit Turkey,” the source said. “However, claims that the political bureau has relocated to Turkey do not reflect the truth.”
The denial comes after some Israeli media, including Israeli state broadcaster Kan, cited unnamed Israeli sources and reported on Sunday that senior Hamas leaders in Qatar, which has been home to the militant group’s political wing for many years, left the Gulf country for Turkey some days ago and that they were staying in Turkey.
The sources stopped short of clarifying whether any Hamas political leaders were currently in the country.
Doha told the militant group to leave the country amid deadlocked cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel, Al-Monitor reported earlier this month, citing multiple Biden administration officials. Turkey and Iran stood out as two likely options for the relocation of Hamas’ political bureau, US sources told Al-Monitor. Qatari officials stopped short of confirming the reports, saying they were “inaccurate.” But on Nov. 9, Qatar told Israel and Hamas it was suspending its mediation efforts between the sides.
While Iran is the militant group’s biggest financial and military supporter, Turkey, unlike other NATO members, doesn’t consider the militant group a terrorist organization. Hamas political leaders have divided their time between Qatar and Turkey until recently.
On Oct. 28, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with top figures in Hamas’ political wing, just two days after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip.
Deputy Chair of Hamas’ political bureau Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Hamas Shura Council Mohammad Darwish as well as the militant group’s leading members Mousa Abu Marzouk and Zaher Jabarin attended the meeting. It remains unclear whether they are still in Turkey.
Hamas’ former political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an apparent Israeli strike in Tehran in July, was in Turkey during the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Turkish authorities reportedly asked Haniyeh and his entourage to leave the country after the attack, as first reported by Al-Monitor.
The Oct. 7 attack, which came a little more than a year after Turkey and Israel fully normalized their diplomatic ties, left the Turkish-Israeli detente in shatters. Amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s outspoken criticism of the militant group, Israel announced in late October that it was reassessing diplomatic ties with Turkey, indicating that its ambassador would not return to Ankara after departing due to security concerns. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Jewish state in November 2023.
Rina Bassist contributed to this report.
