GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas, at all levels, did not hide its joy regarding the victory of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in last weekend’s municipal elections. Hamas leaders made a slew of congratulatory calls and sent cables to the Turkish party’s leadership, reflecting the close relationship that binds the movement with the Turkish ruling party.

Thousands of Hamas members in the Jabaliya refugee camp, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, took part in a mass rally on the evening of March 31, called for by the movement to celebrate Erdogan’s election victory. Some rally participants handed out sweets to express their joy, as did some members of Hamas’ Palestinian police in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Meanwhile, social networking pages of Hamas activists were flooded with congratulatory statements for the victory of the AKP, as well as pictures showing Hamas leaders with Erdogan.

Political analyst Akram Atallah told Al-Monitor that Hamas is “searching for a ray of hope to restore the psychological balance in the ranks of the political Islamic alliance, which has started to lose in the region since last summer. Hamas celebrated the victory of the Justice and Development Party, which shows that it is searching for an opportunity among all these setbacks suffered by political Islam in the region.”