Senior Hamas officials blast Israel-Turkey normalization deal

Two senior Hamas official brushed off a Turkish report according to which Hamas gave its blessing for the Israeli-Turkish deal after Turkey's president updated Hamas's chief about the deal.

By MAAYAN GROISMAN
Erdogan and Mashaal (photo credit: REUTERS)
Erdogan and Mashaal
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Shortly after Turkey and Israel forged a reconciliation deal, six years after the Mavi Marmara incident, senior Hamas officials revealed on Monday their opposition to the deal, claiming that the Palestinian terror organization was not a party to its consolidation.
Hamas's foreign relations Chief Osama Hamdan brushed off a remark written by a prominent Turkish reporter on Twitter, according to which Hamas gave its blessing for the Israeli-Turkish deal. The accord ends a diplomatic rift between Ankara and Jerusalem that began six years ago after a number of activists were killed in an Israeli raid of the Turkish Mavi Marmara flotilla attempting to breach Gaza's naval blockade.
The Turkish journalist, Hamze Tekin, wrote that Hamas authorized the deal after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan relayed the details of the agreement to Hamas's chief Khaled Meshaal.
Responding to Tekin's remarks, Hamdan claimed that Hamas was not involved in concluding the deal, adding that it was "a mere Turkish decision."
Hamas's representative in Iran, Khaled Qaddoumi, also responded to Tekin's report, stating: "Sir, normalization is a bad thing and you must not legitimize it by adding the name of Hamas without relying on any official source within the organization."
Officially, the Palestinian terror organization appears to support the normalization deal, lauding Turkey for the efforts it had invested in solidarity with people in Gaza.
In a press statement issued on Monday, the movement extended its gratitude to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his support of the Palestinian people.
“Those stands are accordant with a long history of Turkish support and solidarity with Palestinians,” Hamas said, hailing the "martyred" and wounded activists on board the Mavi Marmara as heroes who sacrificed their lives and blood for Palestine.
“The Movement looks forward to a Turkish role that ends the Gaza siege and stops Israeli incursions,” the statement underlined.