Intel: Washington condemns Erdogan’s meeting with Hamas leadership - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Aug 25, 2020

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan salute the lawmakers of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party at the parliament in Ankara on Jan. 3, 2012. The United States is criticizing Erdogan for again meeting with Haniyeh on Aug. 22 along with Haniyeh deputy Salah al-Arouri — both listed as terrorists by the United States. — ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The US State Department has condemned the Turkish president’s recent meeting with senior members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as one that “only serves to isolate Turkey” on the world stage.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed a Hamas delegation to Istanbul on Saturday for his second high-profile meeting since February with the group, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

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The Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in front of the lawmakers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party at the Parliament in Ankara on January 3, 2012. Haniyeh's visit was a show of solidarity with the Islamic aid group IHH, which had planned to send the Mavi Marmara vessel with another Gaza flotilla last year but then dropped the plan. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty

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