The Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups on Wednesday lambasted Turkey over a visit by the Israeli president, saying it was a cause for "concern."
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
President Isaac Herzog visited Turkey on Wednesday, becoming the first Israeli leader to do so in 14 years.
Relations between Israel and Turkey, once close regional allies, crumbled in 2010, following the deadly raid on the Marmara flotilla, which attempted to breach the maritime blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. In June 2016, the two countries said they would normalize relations, a move driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals as well as mutual fears over security risks in the Middle East, but diplomatic ties remain frosty, at best. The relationship frayed greatly under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is an outspoken critic of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians.
Nevertheless, once Herzog took office in July 2021, Erdogan, who was one of the first world leaders to offer his congratulations to the newly elected president, has signaled he would like to pursue rapprochement with Israel.
Several senior Hamas leaders are based in Turkey. Careful not to name Turkey or Erdogan in its statement, the terrorist group said it is "following with great concern" visits by Herzog and other Israeli officials "to a number of Arab and Islamic countries in the region. ... We adamantly reject any form of contact with the Israeli enemy."
Hamas "regrets such visits to Arab and Islamic countries, which constitute a strategic depth for the Palestinian people and its just national issue. We call on [Arab countries] not to allow the Zionist entity an opportunity to infiltrate the region and undermine the interests of the peoples in the region."
Gaza's rulers further stressed that they "adamantly reject any contact with the occupation that violates our dignity and defiles and Judaizes Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and continues its siege on the Gaza Strip."
The Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is the second-largest terrorist group in Gaza, also condemned Ankara over the Israeli president's visit, saying any Arab attempt to forge diplomatic ties with Israel "betrays Jerusalem and Palestine."
"This visit comes during the aggressive Zionist escalation against our people in Jerusalem, the enemy's plans to Judaize the holy sites, and settler raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This visit is an achievement for the enemy in its fight against the Palestinian people," the PIJ's statement continued. "The desire to restore relations with the enemy on the pretext of the interest of one state or another is a betrayal of Jerusalem and Palestine.
"This visit ignores the blood of the martyrs who fell to break the siege on the Gaza Strip and goes against the Turkish people's support of the Palestinian people," the terrorist group said, referring to the 2010 raid on the Marmara.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
