Israel Matzav

Hamas doesn't trust Turkey either

Turkey has been trying to insert itself into just about every negotiation among the various parties in the Middle East. Now, Hamas has rejected Turkey's 'offer' to mediate between it and Fatah, telling the Turks to do it through Egypt.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, has said that if Turkey wishes to be included in the political reconciliation process between Hamas and Fatah, it should do so through Egypt, which has played the role of facilitator in talks between the two political groups.

“Egypt hosts talks [between Hamas and Fatah] to maintain unity in Palestine, it already has an active role. If Turkey wants to be included in the process at this point, it should do it through Egypt. So, Turkey can only be included once it cooperates with Egypt,” said the Hamas spokesman to Turkish press on Friday.

...

“We give importance to Turkey's support for the Palestinian people. Yet, we do not really favor the idea of making reconciliation with Fatah more complicated. As I have noted, Egypt controls the consensus process,” said Abu Zuhri as he implied skepticism over a role Turkey can play in the process. However, the Hamas spokesman also said Hamas was not against Turkey being included in talks that could bring about consensus between Hamas and Fatah.

Ankara has long pushed for political reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, noting that the lack of unity only harms Palestinian interests, although the secular Fatah and conservative Hamas are seemingly far from reaching a compromise over their political disputes currently.

 Hmmm.

Labels: Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, Turkish obsession with Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:27 PM