Israel DM to demand Turkiye expel Hamas leaders, stop criticism of military operations in the West Bank

High-level security sources in Tel Aviv revealed that Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz will demand Turkiye expel Hamas leaders from the country and stop its criticism of the occupation state’s military operations against Palestinians.

The sources said: “The Minister of Security will tell his Turkish counterpart that Israel does not accept that Ankara hosts senior Hamas officials such as Saleh Al-Arouri and others.”

Gantz, they said, will also say Turkiye must stop condemning what the sources called “the permanent Israeli security activities”, in reference to the Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank.

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“After a security rupture that lasted for more than a decade, Israel wants to resume the security relations with Turkiye,” the sources explained. However, they ruled out any security cooperation between the two in the near term and said that there are still major differences between them.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that Turkiye asked the leaders of Hamas who reside in Turkiye to reduce their military activities against Israel, explaining that the Turkish request was conveyed to the leader of the movement Saleh Al-Arouri.

The request, the paper explained, came as a result of fear of being criticised by the US and accused of supporting terrorism.

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