Turkey rejects ex-Israeli envoy’s remarks on Hamas ties

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks at the panel named “Syria Refugee Crisis” within the 1st Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland on December 16, 2019 [Bayram Altuğ/Anadolu Agency]

Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday rebuffed allegations saying its territory was used for act against Israel or any other country, Anadolu Agency reports.

The statement came after Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN, accused Turkey of permitting senior Hamas figures to “order attacks against Israel from Istanbul.”

“The majority of the international community considers Hamas not as a terrorist organization but as a political reality which has won the elections in Gaza in 2006,” the ministry said on Twitter.

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It went on saying that the UN General Assembly (UNGA) had rejected calling Palestine’s Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 2018 and various countries enjoyed ties with Hamas at different levels.

“We firmly reject the accusation that the Turkish territory is being used for any act against Israel or any other country,” the statement concluded.

In an article on British daily The Telegraph, Gold criticised Turkey’s relations with the Palestinian movement of Hamas.

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