The negative approach by Hamas to US-led efforts aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process — and the group’s categorical rejection of the Arab League’s “land swap” proposal for peace — has placed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a difficult situation. As a committed Islamist, Erdogan’s natural impulse is to sympathize with Hamas and its leader, Khaled Meshaal, who is also part of the international Muslim Brotherhood network that Turkish political Islamists feel an affinity toward.
Erdogan has not hidden his personal admiration for Meshaal either. This was apparent when Meshaal was one of the few dignitaries invited by Erdogan as a guest of honor to his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) convention in Ankara in September 2012. Meshaal received a standing ovation when he arrived at the convention hall, with delegates later vying for a handshake and a picture with the Hamas leader.
