BICOM

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Hamas’ political chief Khaled Mashaal in the capital Ankara yesterday.

The two have met before, most recently in December, but yesterday’s talks come amid attempts to finalise a reconciliation deal between Turkey and Israel. Talks to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries have been ongoing during the past several months and Turkey’s relationship with Hamas is thought to be a central sticking point to an agreement.

In 2010, the previously warm relationship between Israel and Turkey deteriorated, and diplomatic relations ended, after the deaths of ten Turkish citizens who were killed whilst trying to prevent Israeli commandos taking over a Gaza-bound protest ship, the Mavi Marmara. It is thought that arrangements were made in 2014 over a compensation deal for the families of those killed aboard the Mavi Marmara.

Although subsequent talks resumed last year and have been ongoing, including earlier this month in London, a number of outstanding issues remain. Chief among them are thought to be Turkey’s demand for free access to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Israel’s demand that Hamas be expelled fully from Turkey. Israel Radio reports that Erdogan and Mashaal met yesterday for over an hour and discussed regional developments.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, the London-based Arabic daily A-Sharq al-Awsat says that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are planning to deploy Hamas forces in Iraq. Iran is planning an offensive against the ISIS-held city of Mosul and apparently is looking to have Hamas fighters, plus those from Hezbollah and Shi’ite Houthies, join the fight. The same report says that Iran also wants Hamas fighters to join an offensive against the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk, also in Iraq. Iran views the Kurdish Regional Government as a threat to its own influence in Iraq. According to Kurdish military leaders, Hezbollah has already deployed near Kirkuk, bringing heavy weaponry and missiles.