HAMAS DEFENDS TURKISH INVASION OF SYRIA
Palestinians hold up images of Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a demonstration in Jerusalem in 2017. (Credit: Anadolu Agency)
Hamas released a statement on Monday that seemed to justify the Turkish invasion of Northern Syria, stating that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a right to defend itself and remove “threats” around his border, and that the terror group was opposed to the “Zionist and American presence” in the Middle East. At the same time, Hamas tempered its statement by reaffirming "the unity and territorial integrity of the state of Syria” and urging reconciliation between the two states. Ironically, the statement did not include any mention of Kurdish right to autonomy or self-determination, the very thing that Hamas espouses for the Palestinian people.
The confrontation between Turkey and the Shi’a axis of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah is a delicate issue for Hamas, considering that both Turkey and Iran are primary patrons of its organization. According to a recent support, Hamas receives $30 million from the Iranian regime per month, as well as logistical support. On the other hand, Turkey has been a well-documented haven for Hamas leadership, and a recent interview with the son of a high-ranking Hamas operative shed light on the extent to which Turkey cooperates with Hamas in intelligence gathering. Iran regularly threatens the destruction of the State of Israel in public statements and addresses, which is in alignment with the founding charter of Hamas. Turkish president Erdogan, on the other hand, has vowed to defend Jerusalem against Israeli “invaders,” replied “God willing” to rally chants of “Jerusalem Ours,” and has led a concerted campaign of influence over the Arab population of East Jerusalem, where his image has become nearly ubiquitous. A Turkish organization famously sponsored the Gaza Flotilla in 2010, when a ship full of “human rights activists” threatened to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza without submitting their cargo to Israel for inspection. When Israeli commandos boarded the ship from the air, they were ambushed with pipes and bats before stealing a pistol from an IDF soldier, prompting the Israelis to return fire. Erdogan defended the flotilla and condemned Israel at the time, leading to a rift in Israeli-Turkish relations.
Although Hezbollah is clearly aligned with the Iranian regime from a sectarian perspective, Hamas’ relationship with Iran has been much more opportunistic, as Hamas descends from the Sunni Salafist Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which would make Turkey a much more natural ally. However, mutual hatred for the State of Israel has made Iran, Turkey and Hamas strange bedfellows, as well as their mutual disdain for the Kurdish people.
Hamas’ chief rival in the Palestinian territories, the Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, has to date remained silent on the Turkish invasion of Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with many senior members of the Israeli defense forces and thousands of Israeli Jews and Christians have condemned Erdogan’s “Fountain of Peace” operation and have expressed public solidarity with the Kurdish people.
Sources:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/hamas-turkey-has-right-to-remove-threats-along-borders/1613947
https://ahvalnews.com/hamas/hamas-uses-turkey-regional-intel-listening-post-times-israel
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/01656f25-531a-46d2-a9f5-d1d52d20a413
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-20/turkey-s-erdogan-is-all-over-east-jerusalem
https://www.timesofisrael.com/erdogan-vows-to-defend-jerusalem-from-israeli-invaders/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-agrees-to-increase-hamas-funding-to-30-million-per-month-report/
https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2010/06/02/what-really-happened-on-the-gaza-freedom-flotilla/