For years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been playing a sleazy double game: presenting himself to the West as a regional mediator and responsible NATO ally while simultaneously transforming Turkey into a sanctuary for Hamas terrorists outside the Gaza Strip.
New revelations emerging from Israeli security investigations have shattered any illusion that Turkey's relationship with Hamas is limited to "political support" or "diplomatic engagement." The evidence increasingly points to a situation far more alarming: Turkey has become a primary operational, logistical, and financial hub for Hamas's global terror infrastructure.
Countries that enable terrorism cannot at the same time be treated as indispensable partners in the fight against terrorism.
A recent report by Israel's public broadcaster KAN revealed that Hamas operatives have been openly participating in combat training exercises at shooting clubs across Turkey.
The Hamas members, according to the report, have been training in civilian clothing to avoid suspicion while learning firearms tactics and advanced combat techniques. More disturbing are reports that Hamas members have been enrolling in professional drone-pilot courses and receiving official Turkish licenses to fly drones.
The training, according to Israeli officials cited in the report, is intended to prepare the Hamas members for deployment to Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank for possible future attacks on Israel.
This is not "symbolic" support for the Palestinian cause. It is military assistance, equivalent to the support the Iranian regime has been providing to Hamas for decades.
Drones are now among the most important tools used by the Iranian regime and its terror proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, in their jihad (holy war) against Israel. Hamas used drones extensively during its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, as well as in attacks on Israeli surveillance systems and military bases.
By allowing Hamas members to develop drone capabilities on Turkish soil, Ankara is deliberately grooming terrorists for future wars against Israel.
Turkey, rather than simply hosting Hamas officials, is willfully cultivating the next generation of Hamas terrorists and making sure that the geographical reach of Iran's jihadist axis continues to expand.
In addition, Turkey has emerged as a crucial financial artery for Hamas and its sponsors from Iran.
In December 2025, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security agency exposed what they described as a major Iranian-directed money-laundering network operating inside Turkey. Internal Hamas documents revealed a sophisticated financial system managed largely by Hamas-linked Gazan expatriates who have relocated to Turkey.
The IDF and Shin Bet publicly identified at least three individuals involved with the financing network in Turkey. Tamar Hassan reportedly works directly under the leadership of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya. Khalil Farwana and Farid Abu Dayir were also named as key facilitators working within the broader network of exchange companies.
"Hamas agents in Turkey channel funds for terrorist purposes," said IDF Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee, adding, "One wonders what a member of NATO is doing helping to facilitate terrorism."
Turkey's pivotal financial role is especially significant because it provides Hamas with access to the international financial system through the territory of a NATO member state. That reality should deeply alarm both Washington and European capitals.
Ideologically -- as well as militarily and financially -- Erdogan has openly embraced Hamas leaders. He has repeatedly refused to designate the group as a terrorist organization. Instead, he has strongly defended Hamas and characterized its members as "resistance fighters" and "liberation group" warriors fighting to protect Palestinian lands.
Senior Hamas officials, including Khaled Mashaal and the late Ismail Haniyeh, have always been welcomed in Turkey as honored guests. Some Hamas officials have reportedly received Turkish passports, residency permits, and freedom of movement.
Erdogan's alignment with Hamas seems rooted in his broader ideological affinity with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and other Islamist groups. His government has consistently supported radical Islamist groups in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and other countries.
It was predictable that Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, became one of Ankara's closest ideological allies.
For years, Western governments have clung to the fiction that countries such as Turkey and Qatar can serve as neutral mediators between Hamas and Israel. That assumption has always been deeply flawed.
Qatar has long functioned as Hamas's principal financial patron, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip while hosting Hamas leaders in Doha. Turkey, meanwhile, has provided operational sanctuary, logistical training, and access to financial systems.
The continued Western reliance on Turkey and Qatar as intermediaries has simply strengthened Hamas and protracted the instability in the Middle East.
How can the West keep regarding Turkey and Qatar as credible allies while they insist on supporting terrorist groups committed to conquering not just Israel but also other UN member states, such as with Turkey's designs on Cyprus and Greece?
Qatar, meanwhile, continues to try to undermine the United States by donating, over decades, many billions of dollars to influence education from K-12 through graduate schools throughout America. Cornell University has received $10 billion over the years; Carnegie Mellon "just under $2 billion"; Texas A&M University "over $1 billion" (which gave Qatar full ownership of more than 500 research projects in fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, biotech, robotics and weapons development); and Georgetown University $971 million. Why do Qatar and Turkey continue embracing Hamas while demanding the trust of the US and the West? Why does the West keep accepting this duplicity?
The Trump administration faces a crucial test. If Washington is genuinely serious about dismantling the infrastructure of Hamas and confronting the Iranian regime, it cannot continue overlooking Turkey's commitment to doing the exact opposite: safeguarding and supporting Hamas.
A NATO member state, Turkey, is facilitating the activities of an Iranian-backed terrorist group responsible for the mass murder of civilians, including many Americans.
By allowing Hamas and other terrorist groups to operate freely on its soil, Turkey is undermining the very security architecture that NATO was created to defend.
Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
