Israel Matzav

Even Turkey won't take them

Turkish government spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told a news conference on Monday following a Cabinet meeting that Mashaal’s being based out of Turkey is out of question. He added that news reports claiming the Turkish government would give the Palestinian group some millions of dollars in aid are also not true.

In a response to a question about Hamas moving to Turkey after leaving Damascus, Arınç said Hamas is an organization that has been recognized by Turkey and has formed a government in the Palestinian territories following democratic elections in 2006. “Khaled Mashaal’s stay in Turkey is out of question,” Arınç told reporters.

Mashaal recently visited Turkey which, unlike its fellow NATO members, recognizes Hamas as a legal political party.

Some diplomatic sources had stated that Turkey promised to provide Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's administration with $300 million to support its annual budget. The Turkish Foreign Ministry had earlier dismissed such reports.

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Diplomatic and intelligence sources say Mashaal no longer spends much time in Syria, where over 5,000 people have been killed in 10 months of conflict. However, Hamas said in a statement in recent days that Mashaal's absence from Damascus was due only to security concerns in that country at the moment and denied that it had moved its leadership or headquarters out of Syria for good.

Labels: Hamas, Syrian uprising, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:17 AM