Ankara dismisses Palestinian Government coup claims

Turkey has strongly condemned claims circulating in Israeli media that Ankara took part in an attempt by Hamas to topple the Palestinian unity government which was formed in June.

Israel’s Shin Bet security service announced Monday that it had thwarted a Hamas coup to overthrow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“It is out of the question that our country would tolerate attempts to topple the Palestinian National Unity Government,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said Tuesday in a written statement.

“We strongly dismiss and condemn such slanders.”

Turkey considers Palestine’s unity government as an indispensable factor for peace and welfare of the Palestinian people and for a fair and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the statement added.