Hamas chief Haniyeh to visit Turkey this weekend: Erdogan

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday (Apr 17) that he would host a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Türkiye this weekend.

"The leader of the Palestinian cause will be my guest this weekend," Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel, told lawmakers.

While Erdogan did not say where he would meet the Hamas political leader, a Turkish official said that they would hold talks on Saturday at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.

"Even if only I, Tayyip Erdogan, remain, I will continue as long as God gives me my life, to defend the Palestinian struggle and to be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people," the president said, calling Hamas a "resistance group".

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was in Qatar Wednesday and said he spent three hours with Haniyeh and his aides for "a wide exchange of views in particular about negotiations for a ceasefire".

Qatar, a mediator between Israel and Hamas, acknowledged Wednesday that negotiations to end hostilities in Gaza and liberate hostages were "stalling".

Fidan said he spoke with Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, about how Hamas "must clearly express its expectations, especially about a two-state solution".

Erdogan's last meeting with Haniyeh was in July 2023 when Erdogan hosted Haniyeh and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas at the presidential palace in Ankara. Haniyeh had last met Fidan in Türkiye on Jan 2.