ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged Hamas not to let Israel drag the Palestinians into war, and denounced Israel’s “aggression” in the recent cross-border hostilities.
He was speaking at a meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Ankara. Mashaal accused Israel of “fabricating excuses” to attack Gaza, and claimed the latest conflict had been designed by Israel to test its Iron Dome missile defense system.
The two men also discussed developments relating to Palestinian unity. Reconciliation efforts between Hamas — shunned by the West as a terror group — and Fatah continue, but they have encountered new obstacles.
Mashaal reportedly praised Erdogan for Turkey’s role in seeking to break Israel’s sea blockade on Gaza, and for taking in some of the Palestinian security prisoners released in last October’s deal that saw the return of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza for more than five years by Hamas.
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