Erdogan hosts PA’s Abbas, Hamas head Haniyeh to prepare for détente talks
Statement from PA president’s office downplays rare summit with leader of rival group in Ankara, as Turkey pushes Palestinian reconciliation
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas terror group head Ismail Haniyeh held a joint meeting in Ankara Wednesday with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ahead of a crucial summit of Palestinian factions set for the weekend.
Abbas and Haniyeh met together with Erdogan behind closed doors, the Turkish leader’s office said.
Sources close to the Fatah party and Hamas said that the Ankara meeting focused on Palestinian unity and how to end divisions.
The meeting is “very important, especially in light of the continuation of the Israeli aggression in Jerusalem and the West Bank and the continuation of settlement activity,” a source said.
During the meeting, Erdogan told the factional heads that a lack of unity among the Palestinians benefited those “who wanted to undermine peace,” Ankara said.
A readout from Abbas’s office said he and the Turkish president discussed developing bilateral ties. The statement did not mention Haniyeh’s presence, reflecting frayed ties between the rival Palestinian groups.
Fatah, Hamas and several other groups are slated to meet in Cairo on national reconciliation, following Israeli raids against Islamic Jihad terrorists in the northern West Bank, where the PA has largely lost control of Palestinian cities Nablus and Jenin. Islamic Jihad said earlier this week that it would boycott the meet.
A statement from Hamas official Husam Badran said the sides discussed reconciliation efforts ahead of the two-day meeting, set to begin July 29. He said unity was needed to confront Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also due to visit Turkey this week, but his visit was later postponed, after he had surgery last weekend and as Israel is roiled by protests over a contentious judicial makeover.
After several years of tensions, relations between Turkey and Israel have improved over the past year, with several high-level visits, including that of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.
During a bilateral meeting with Abbas Tuesday, Erdogan promised to continue supporting the Palestinian cause and voiced concerns over the flare-up of violence in the West Bank in recent months.
“We will continue to support the Palestinian cause in the strongest way possible,” Erdogan said alongside Abbas.
“We are deeply worried about the increasing loss of lives, destruction, the expansion of illegal settlements and settlers violence,” the Turkish leader said.
“The only way to a just and lasting peace in the region is to defend the vision of a two-state solution,” he added.
Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in the West Bank Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the army confirmed it was conducting “counter-terrorism activity” in a Nablus refugee camp.
Erdogan also said Turkey would do its part for unity and reconciliation between the Palestinian factions.
