PM Erdogan meets with Gaza's Hamas premier in Istanbul
2 January 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, I STANBUL
Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who is on a visit to Turkey as part of an official tour of the Muslim world, has said he came to Turkey to deliver his gratitude to the Turkish government and people for their support for Palestine .
In an interview with the Anatolia news agency on Monday, Haniyeh said Turkey played a major role in a recent prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel and a recent agreement between Hamas and Fatah. He said Palestinians appreciate Turkey 's support in many fields. Haniyeh met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo g an at the prime minister's I stanbul residence on Sunday. During the meeting, Erdo g an expressed his hope that the Palestinians will "attain an all-encompassing umbrella organization with strong democratic powers of representation." The Gazan leader said they discussed many significant issues -- the embargo of Gaza, a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Palestine, the Israeli threat to Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque -- related to Palestine, adding that he received a “much warmer welcome than that of a friend or brother” from Erdogan. The Gazan prime minister also said Palestinians would support efforts to ensure the unity of Palestine , with Prime Minister Erdo g an playing the role of intermediary between Hamas and Fatah.
Haniyeh's visit comes as Turkey tries to help efforts toward a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions. Hamas and Fatah formed a short-lived unity government following the 2006 parliamentary elections. But the following year, the alliance shattered and Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip during several days of fighting, leaving the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in charge in the West Bank . Repeated attempts at reconciliation failed, and both sides have cracked down on the other group in their respective territories. Haniyeh said the Palestinian people owe much to “the martyrs” of the Freedom Flotilla, the flotilla of six aid vessels headed for the Gaza Strip that was subjected to a deadly raid by the Israeli military on May 31, 2010, and that the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the flotilla on which eight Turks and a Turkish-American were killed in the Israeli raid, contributed much to the Palestinian cause. The Gazan prime minister paid a visit to the Humanitarian Aid Foundation ( I HH), one of the organizers of the flotilla and owner of the Mavi Marmara, on Monday. He held a press conference with I HH Chairman Bülent Yildirim and also visited the Mavi Marmara, which is now docked in I stanbul.
Speaking at the I stanbul dock, Haniyeh denounced the Israeli blockade of Gaza . Israel has lifted restrictions on consumer goods, though it has kept a ban on materials like cement and metals that it says could be used by Hamas to build fortifications or aid attacks on Israel.Haniyeh, referring to pro-democracy movements that swept across the Middle East and North Africa and that were popularly dubbed the Arab Spring, said the “Islamic Spring” will have a serious influence on the Palestinian issue. He did not elaborate further. “The people involved in uprisings, beginning at Egypt's Tahrir Square, all say they are with the Palestinian people and cause. The second proof has to do with the fact that political parties who won elections following the revolutions all supported the Palestinian cause in the past. This shows that the Arab people and their administrations will be on the side of the Palestinians in the future and defend the rights of the Palestinians. I must state here that it was the Palestine issue that gained the most from the Arab Spring,” he said, as quoted by Anatolia.
Source: www.todayszaman.com/news-267305-pm-erdogan-meets-with-gazas-hamas-premier-in-istanbul.html
