After supporting the Hamas terrorist group for more than a decade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with US President Donald J. Trump, now reportedly plan for Turkey to be part of the international "Board of Peace" that will operate in Gaza.
"The deployment of Turkish forces in Gaza is bad news," notes journalist Christine Douglass-Williams:
"Consider that Erdogan has referenced Hamas as a 'liberation organization,' hosted its leadership in Ankara, and granted them Turkish passports. Turkey and Qatar are well-known Muslim Brotherhood supporters. With Turkey also supporting Syrian jihadist President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as its increased partnership with Iran and the fact that it considers the Taliban a friend, Israel is left worse off than when Hamas managed Gaza, given the sheer power of Turkey (which is increasing)....
"The deployment of Turkish forces in Gaza and the sale of F-35s to Erdogan are not policy ideas but a method: regional management through personal deals and assurances rather than hard reality. Trump himself illustrated this approach when he dismissed the issue as if it were a neighborhood misunderstanding: Israel 'will be fine' and Turkey 'won't use them against you'. This is not policy; it is a dangerous assumption. In the Middle East, it does not work."
Palestinian journalist Hamza Howidy warned:
"It seems that Turkey, despite its public ties to Hamas, led by Erdogan, who recently described Hamas as a 'liberation movement,' will be somehow part of Gaza's ceasefire; trucks with Turkish flags were spotted today in the Gaza Strip.
"Giving Turkey a role in Gaza's future is a strategic mistake that will sooner or later, reborn Hamas or end up with a new militia with Hamas's goals, with another name."
The "Gaza peace deal," brokered by Trump in September, envisions an international force that will see to it that Hamas is completely disarmed while effectively presiding over areas now controlled by the terrorist organization. This means that Trump is actually expecting that these international countries -- all Hamas's fellow Muslims, Muslim Brotherhood supporters, and dedicated opponents of Israel – will actually force Hamas to disarm and live quietly side-by-side in harmony with Israel, a state that, at some point, they all have indicated they would like to see destroyed.
In a January 5 interview with Bloomberg, Erdogan stated that the success of a so-called international stabilization force in Gaza would "depend on the inclusion of actors with legitimacy on the ground." From Erdogan's own words, it should be easy to tell whom he regards as illegitimate. It is not the Palestinians. Erdogan added:
"You will appreciate that, in this sense, it would be difficult for any mechanism without Türkiye to gain the trust of the Palestinian people. We are in the position of a key country for such a mission due to our deep historical ties with the Palestinian side, the security and diplomacy channels we have conducted with Israel in the past [evidently very much in the past, before he began sending flotillas with weapons to attack Israel. Ed.], and our regional influence as a NATO member country. Our political will is clear; we stand ready to take on any responsibility for a lasting peace in Gaza." [Emphasis added]
Erdogan's regime, however, through its continuous support for Hamas, has not brought a lasting peace; it has brought lasting terrorism. Erdogan's own words reveal his intentions:
- "In this city, which we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us." (Address at the opening of Parliament, October 1, 2020)
- "May Allah, for the sake of his name 'Al-Qahhar,' destroy and devastate Zionist Israel." (Eid al Fitr prayers, March 30, 2025)
- "I do not see Hamas as a terrorist organization; on the contrary, I see Hamas as people engaged in the struggle to protect their own land and their own people." (Quoted by Turkey's official Directorate of Communications X account, May 13, 2024)
- "Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them." (From a speech on March 8, 2024)
Turkey makes no secret of its support for the Hamas terror organization. Throughout the years, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, Ibrahim Kalın, have met Hamas leaders, including the slain leader Ismail Haniyeh, multiple times. On January 29, 2025, Erdogan received Mohammed Darwish, chairman of the Hamas Shura Council, and a Hamas delegation at the presidential complex in Ankara. More recently, on December 24, Fidan met in Ankara with a Hamas delegation headed by Hamas Political Bureau Member Khalil Hayye.
Hamas official Kemal Avn, in an interview with CNN Turk aired on December 18, said:
"The Palestinian resistance has wanted Turkey to be a mediator in Gaza since the beginning of the war [in 2023]. We want to see the Turkish military in Gaza... We trust Turkey more than other states that give us orders."
You bet they want Turkey's military in Gaza. Turkey's alliance with Hamas has been solid for many years. Hamas has offices in Turkey and has taken up money laundering there. The German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported that Hamas is known to have at least one office in Istanbul's neighborhood of Başakşehir, which they also use for meetings with journalists. There is, in addition, an association affiliated with Hamas in the Istanbul neighborhood of Fatih connected to this office. The Turkish government has even granted some Hamas members Turkish passports.
In 2018, the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) issued a report entitled "Turkey Embraces Hamas":
"Turkish authorities allow the military wing of Hamas to operate from an office in Istanbul that deals with planning terror attacks and transferring funds to the organization's activists in the West Bank.
"This office is run by the Beirut-based Saleh al-Arouri, vice-chairman of the political bureau of Hamas, with the assistance of Hamas activists released under the Shalit prisoner release deal in 2011."
In another report posted the same year, the JCFA wrote that "former terrorist prisoners run the Hamas office in Istanbul."
"The military wing of Hamas maintains an office in Istanbul, Turkey, which works closely with the West Bank headquarters of Hamas located in Gaza and directing terror attacks in the West Bank. One of the operatives involved is Forsan Khalifa, responsible for the northern part of the West Bank. Khalifa liaised with the terror cell headed by terrorist Ahmed Nassar Jarrar of Jenin, who murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevach next to the community of Havat Gilad in Samaria."
In 2021, in a report titled "Hamas' Istanbul Headquarters Has Directed Hundreds of Terror Attacks Against Israelis and Laundered Millions of Dollars," the JCFA wrote:
"Turkey collaborates with terror organizations on both the ideological and operational levels. Terrorists working on Turkish soil establish infrastructures and plan terror attacks against Israel. Hamas senior officials (most former inmates in Israel for terrorism who were released in a prisoner exchange) are operating from Turkey against Israel....
"Despite the official Turkish claims, not only Hamas' political activity is involved. According to the Shabak (Israeli Security Agency), [aka the Shin Bet], over the years, the Istanbul headquarters, branches and operatives have directed hundreds of terror attacks and attempted attacks in Israel and the West Bank in particular."
The report also sheds light on Hamas's companies and money laundering in Turkey:
"The Shabak's investigation revealed extensive Hamas money laundering in Turkey under the supervision of Zaher Jabarin, with the authorities turning a blind eye to the source of the funds. The investigation also found that Hamas operatives owned a company named Imas, which served Hamas by camouflaging money-laundering activity involving sums of millions of dollars that were transferred to Gaza and different countries."
The report named some of the Hamas terrorists who operated in Turkey and even murdered Israelis:
"Mahmoud Atwan, originally from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher, freed in the Shalit deal, member of the cell that kidnapped and murdered Border Police officer Nissim Toledano in 1992; Majid Abu Katish, originally from Anata, also a member of that cell; Taiser Suleiman, expelled in the Shalit deal, murdered an Israeli soldier; Fahad Sabri Barhan al-Shaludi, appears from time to time on Turkish television; Walid Zakaria Akel, a founder of Hamas' Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, was given 21 life sentences; Haroun Mansour Yakoub Nasser al-Din, boasted in the past that Turkey grants former Hamas prisoners full freedom to come and go as they please; Ayman Mohammad Abu Khalil; Bakri Hanifa, a senior economic figure in Hamas claimed to have transferred millions of dollars from Qatar to Hamas via Turkey; and Maher Abid, a member of Hamas' Political Bureau and senior financial operative, reportedly in charge of Hamas' international relations until 2016."
According to a March 2025 report entitled "Turkey as a Center for Hamas Activity" by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:
"Turkey, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is one of Hamas' most important strategic allies, especially since the violent events of the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010. Turkey hosts senior Hamas figures, some of whom have received Turkish citizenship, and provides political, diplomatic and propaganda support, as well as economic and humanitarian assistance.
"Hamas has established one of its most important overseas centers in Turkey, primarily operated by prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal of 2011. It uses Turkey to plan terrorist attacks and transfer funds to finance terrorist activities inside Israel, in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and to raise and launder money in support of its terrorist operations, including the October 7, 2023, attack and massacre.
"The close relationship between Turkey and Hamas was manifested during the Gaza Strip War, when Turkey did not condemn Hamas but sharply criticized Israel, often using antisemitic themes. Throughout the fighting, political coordination continued between Erdoğan, senior Turkish officials and the Hamas leadership, including regarding negotiations with Israel and humanitarian assistance. Turkey also received Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli prisons and deported."
On March 30, during a Ramadan prayer service, Erdogan declared, "May Allah, for the sake of his name ... destroy and devastate Zionist Israel." He also prayed for "mercy upon the martyrs" of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and wished a "speedy recovery" to their wounded terrorists.
Despite warnings from the US government, Hamas's alliance with Erdogan's Turkey remains strong. Yaakov Lappin, a military affairs correspondent and analyst, reported for JNS on April 4, 2025:
"A Hamas terror cell in Nablus that received instructions and funding from the organization's overseas headquarters in Turkey was dismantled by Israeli security forces in recent weeks in what observers say is part of a broader pattern of Turkey serving as a permissive hub for Hamas's terror operations.
"According to a joint statement by the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) issued on March 25, 'a terror cell from Nablus was thwarted, which acted under the guidance and funding of Hamas headquarters in Turkey to carry out shooting and explosive device attacks.' The statement added that 'an M-16 rifle and tens of thousands of dollars in cash were handed over during the investigation'....
Michael Barak, senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) and a specialist on radical Islamist and jihadist movements, told JNS on Tuesday, 'Turkey is a base for the Muslim Brotherhood. There are networks there that help Hamas with funding, support, religious rulings, and logistics. Turkey has become a reception point for Brotherhood members.'
Barak confirmed that 'a Hamas headquarters still exists there—in Istanbul and Ankara—and it is integrated into educational institutions, including universities.'
He cited the example of Professor Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad financier in the 1990s who was deported from the United States and now operates from a university-affiliated think tank in Ankara. 'There he hosts Hamas figures,' Barak said. 'Al-Arian maintains ties with Hamas, runs webinars with them on Zoom, and manages Brotherhood-Hamas links, including in India.'
Barak emphasized: 'All of these Muslim Brotherhood assets in Turkey assist Hamas—whether through dawa [Islamic outreach], financing, or religious rulings.'
He added that Turkey has become 'a reception point for Muslim Brotherhood figures from Libya, Iraq and Yemen.'"
Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been designated as a terrorist organization by, among many others, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the European Union.
On October 7, 2023, Israel was invaded by Hamas terrorists. They attacked civilian communities and murdered 1,200 civilians and foreign nationals, wounding thousands more. Among other atrocities, they baked a baby alive in an oven; cut off a woman's breast while raping her, then "played with it"; kidnapped 241 Israelis and foreign nationals, whom they also tortured, raped and starved – and murdered many of them.
Dr. Tal Becker, former advisor to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in January 2024, reported to the International Court of Justice, which was accusing Israel of genocide:
"The civilian suffering in this war, like in all wars, is tragic... The Applicant [South Africa] has regrettably put before the Court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture....
"[I]f there have been acts that may be characterized as genocidal, then they have been perpetrated against Israel....
"[I]f there is a humanitarian threat to the Palestinian civilians of Gaza - it stems primarily from the fact that they have lived under the control of a genocidal terrorist organization that has total disregard for their life and well-being. That organization, Hamas, and its sponsors, seek to deny Israel, Palestinians, and Arab States across the region, the ability to advance a common future of peace, co-existence, security, and prosperity. Israel is in a war of defense against Hamas - not against the Palestinian people - to ensure that they do not succeed."
This invasion of Israel, roughly the size of New Jersey (22 million sq. km.), was launched by approximately 3,000 terrorists, accompanied by an estimated 2,200 rockets launched at Israeli villages, towns and cities. Around 215,000 Israeli civilians were evacuated from their homes, becoming internally displaced persons.
Legal scholar Avraham Russell Shalev, who specializes in international public law, argued in a 2025 article that what Hamas did on October 7 was genocide:
"[The] article analyses the October 7th 2023 Hamas attack on Israel through the lens of the Genocide Convention, arguing that these actions constitute genocide under international law. Drawing on international case law, the analysis demonstrates how Hamas' actions meet both the physical element and specific intent requirements for genocide, evidenced by its ideology, systematic policies and leadership statements. The article also examines how reverse accusations of genocide against Israel have functioned as a rhetorical shield to deflect recognition of Hamas' own genocidal actions."
Hamas opposes any negotiations with Israel or Jews. The 1988 Hamas Covenant aims to obliterate Israel and Jews worldwide and replace Israel with an Islamic theocratic state. Hamas aims at jihadist-martyrdom against not only Israel but also all Jews (Article 7). The Hamas covenant spells out Hamas's genocidal intentions. Article 2 states:
"The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Moslem Brotherhood in Palestine. Moslem Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam."
Hamas states that it is against any peace process:
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with." (Article 13).
Article 8 spells out "The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement," which has inspired countless jihadist martyrs worldwide, goes:
"Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes."
Hamas is committed to an eternal jihad against the Jews, until the victory of Allah is implemented. According to Hamas, Muslims are obligated to fight and kill the Jews wherever they find them. This global, genocidal call is justified by a hadith (saying attributed to Muhammad) that concludes Article 7:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla [lit.: slave of Allah,], there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem)."
According to Georgetown University Professor Bruce Hoffman:
"The most relevant of the document's 36 articles can be summarized as falling within four main themes:
1. The complete destruction of Israel as an essential condition for the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of a theocratic state based on Islamic law (Sharia),
2. The need for both unrestrained and unceasing holy war (jihad) to attain the above objective,
3. The deliberate disdain for, and dismissal of, any negotiated resolution or political settlement of Jewish and Muslim claims to the Holy Land, and
4. The reinforcement of historical anti-Semitic tropes and calumnies married to sinister conspiracy theories."
Hoffman adds:
"Accordingly, what happened in Israel [on October 7, 2023] is completely in keeping with Hamas's explicit aims and stated objectives. It was, in fact, the inchoate realization of Hamas's true ambitions."
Erdogan, however, said in a speech in Istanbul in 2024:
"No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization... Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them."
Erdogan's dream, apparently, has long been to recreate the Ottoman Empire, covering all of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Europe and the Balkans, presumably with himself as sultan. Seemingly to that end, he has repeatedly spoken about the need to reconquer Jerusalem:
"We will not allow sacred Jerusalem to be defiled by unworthy hands.... As Muslims, we will not take a single step back from our rights in East Jerusalem. Our struggle to make Jerusalem a city of peace, security, and safety continues.... We remain focused on our goals. We plan every move like a master chess player. No provocation will prevent us from achieving our objectives. Türkiye's foreign policy prioritizes peace, but this does not mean we will remain silent in the face of injustice."
Injustice to Erdogan is evidently Israel in charge of Jerusalem.
Turkey, under Erdogan, has become a main supporter of other Islamic terror groups as well, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay'at Tahrir al Sham forces in Syria and the Islamic State (ISIS).
It would not be surprising if Turkey wished for nothing more -- apart from F-35 fighter jets -- than to help bring "peace" to Gaza. As soon as Trump leaves office, Erdogan would be exquisitely situated to target Israel in a pincer operation: from Syria in the east -- helped by Erdogan's protégé, Ahmed al-Sharaa -- and from Gaza in the West.
Erdogan's regime is not a rational force that aims to contain Hamas or turn the terror group into a moderate or non-violent entity. Erdogan's regime openly supports the ideology and actions of Hamas. Hence, the presence of Turkish forces in Gaza means that Hamas' presence in Gaza will remain and Hamas terrorists will continue to target Israel, murder both Israelis and Gazans, and continue to empower international jihadist movements.
Anyone investing in the rebuilding of Gaza, in which a role is played by Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority, Bangladesh or the UN (which just allocated a budget of $100 million for targeting Israel) -- in short, a bouquet of countries that have long wished for Israel's demise -- should probably expect their bid for a "Gazan Riviera" eventually to have a disappointing return on investment.
It will be easy for these longtime adversaries of Israel to join the Abraham Accords and enjoy the benefits as long as they can – just as it was to sign the Oslo Accords – then, at the earliest opportunity, tear them up, especially after being so deliciously positioned to attack Israel when Trump is no longer in office.
No wonder Erdogan and the others must be licking their chops at the prospect of bringing "peace" to the Gazan chicken coop.
Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
