Washington Warns Ankara About Hosting Hamas Leaders in Turkey

On Monday, November 28, the U.S. State Department warned Ankara against any efforts or agreements to host leaders of the 'terrorist group' Hamas in Turkey. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, referring to reports about Hamas leaders being in Turkey after their expulsion from Qatar, stated: 'Washington has made it clear to Ankara's leaders that the Turkish government can no longer engage with Hamas and its leaders as it did before.' Matthew Miller also added, 'Some Hamas leaders are wanted by the United States and must be handed over to Washington, and they can no longer live and operate freely wherever they wish, especially in a country like Turkey, which is our ally.' Recent reports indicated that Hamas leaders had traveled to Turkey after being expelled from Qatar and had chosen cities in Turkey for residence. A Turkish diplomatic source denied reports about the transfer of Hamas's political office from Doha to Turkey, stating that members of this Palestinian group had only visited the country. Ten days ago, the Qatari government announced that Doha had agreed to the U.S. request to expel Hamas leaders from the country and informed the group that they had until mid-December to close their diplomatic office in Doha. At the same time, an American official told the Times of Israel that the execution of Hersh Goldberg Polin, an American-Israeli hostage, by Hamas in late August and the group's rejection of recent ceasefire proposals had convinced the Biden administration to prevent the continued presence of its leaders in Doha and to change its approach towards them. Qatar has hosted Hamas officials in Doha since 2012, and U.S. administrations had welcomed this presence as a 'communication channel with this terrorist group.' It is reported that after Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the United States informed Qatari leaders that they could not maintain their previous approach with this terrorist group; however, they preferred to keep Hamas's office in Doha to use this position to advance ceasefire negotiations and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has played a significant role in multiple rounds of negotiations for establishing a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by this group in the Gaza Strip; negotiations that have been fruitless and have recently been transferred to Egypt. Biden called for G-20 pressure on Hamas to accept a ceasefire. A diplomatic source stated that the transfer of Hamas's political office to Turkey is not true. The Biden administration still hopes to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Michael McCaul stated that the welfare of Hamas leaders in Doha is intolerable. Qatar announced that it would halt mediation regarding the Gaza war until conditions are met.