Hamas: ‘We are proud of Turkish position on Palestinian issue’

Hamas yesterday hailed the official Turkish position towards the Palestinian issue, saying it is “proud” of it, Al-Resalah newspaper reported the movement’s spokesperson saying.

This came a day after online Emirati newspaper Al-Rai Al-Youm reported that Hamas sources claimed that Turkey had given up the demand to lift the siege on Gaza as a condition for normalising diplomatic relations with Israel.

It also claimed that Hamas sources said that Turkey would take severe measures against Hamas officials in the country, including minimising its presence and restricting its movement.

Official Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri denied the claims, stressing that no Hamas official made such remarks, he called on the newspaper to stop defaming his movement.

Early this week, Turkish and Israeli media reported that an agreement to normalise relations between the two sides is expected to be announced soon.

Meanwhile, the Turkish foreign minister reiterated that his country insists on lifting the Gaza siege as part of any agreement with Israel.

In a press conference held in Ankara yesterday, he said that his country would never cut relations with Hamas, “which was elected by the Palestinians,” as a condition to regain relations with Israel.