After speculations of leaving Qatar… Hamas leaders are looking of other countries
Hamas head of the political bureau abroad Ismail Haniyeh held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday, as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas faltered.
This step came after Qatar’s statements that it was reevaluating its role as a mediator in the truce negotiations.
These events coincide with what was reported by the Wall Street Journal newspaper, on Saturday, regarding the intention of Hamas officials to leave Qatar and move to another capital, noting that the movement has recently communicated with at least two countries in the region regarding the transfer of its political leaders to them, but it did not name them.
Haniyeh’s visit to Istanbul, which is his first trip to Türkiye since Israel began its campaign against Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, raises questions about the Turkish role and whether Ankara will be the movement’s new center, as well as the extent of Türkiye’s ability to mediate talks between… The two opponents and whether she has winning cards in her hands that enable her to use her influence to lead the mediation process.
“It’s very likely that Türkiye aims to position itself as a mediator in the conflict and perhaps take over Qatar’s role, especially with the lack of success of other countries in these talks such as Egypt,” said Selin Naci, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and professor of international relations.
Regarding the possibility of Hamas leaders moving to Türkiye, the Turkish analyst believes that “the Turkish people in general sympathize with the Palestinian cause, and the current ruling party supports Hamas because they have one background in common, which is the Muslim Brotherhood”.
She said, “The Turkish government granted Hamas members legal and valid passports, and Hamas officials enjoy freedom at the operational level in Türkiye, and this is what caused a dispute between Türkiye and Israel”.
Therefore, Nasi doesn’t rule out that “Türkiye will be the new center for Hamas,” explaining that “the options available to Hamas movement are very limited, and most of them may be linked in one way or another to areas of Iranian influence and control, such as Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen”.
She said, “These destinations are not favored by the international community, specifically the US administration, and Hamas itself isn’t in its interest to be completely under Iranian influence because this undermines its strength and poses a threat to it”.
