Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday hailed Türkiye's support for the Palestinian cause amid Israel's relentless war on the Gaza Strip.
"President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks earlier this week, where he described Hamas as a national liberation movement and likened it to the Kuva-i Milliye (Turkish National Forces), is undoubtedly a source of pride for us and the Palestinian people," Haniyeh told Anadolu Agency (AA) in an interview.
Haniyeh was in Istanbul to hold a meeting with Erdoğan, as well as Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, to discuss Israel's attacks on Gaza, the plight of Palestinians in the blockaded enclave, which only worsened under Israel's airstrikes for the past six months, as well as delivery of humanitarian aid and cease-fire negotiations with Israel.
Erdoğan said Palestinian unity was "vital" following the talks at the Dolmabahçe Palace on the banks of the Bosporus, which Turkish media reports said lasted more than two and a half hours.
"The strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lie in unity and integrity," Erdoğan said, according to a Turkish Presidency statement.
Erdoğan's government, which has harshly criticized Israel and accused it of committing "genocide" in Gaza, maintains links with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. Unlike some European countries and the United States, Türkiye does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
After the meeting, Haniyeh praised Erdoğan's remarks earlier this week at a parliamentary meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), where he vowed to defend the Palestinian cause "against all odds" and compared Hamas' struggle to the Turkish War of Independence 100 years ago fought by the Kuva-i Milliye, the irregular National Forces formed after the occupation of parts of Türkiye.
"We definitely know that saying this will come with a price," Erdoğan had said.
Similarly, Haniyeh said Hamas is "a movement that resists to liberate our lands, sacred values and people from historical occupation."
Highlighting Türkiye's historical ties to the Palestinian cause due to its "regional and Islamic position," Haniyeh said Erdoğan's remarks reflect the conscience of the Turkish people, "who consider the Palestinian cause as their own, empathize with Gaza from a humanitarian perspective and stand against oppression."
Haniyeh further said that the group conveyed its insistence to Erdoğan on the fact that Palestinian people are facing genocide, as well as ongoing negotiations for a cease-fire, which includes Hamas' demands for "a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the complete withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced persons to their homes, reconstruction, lifting of the blockade and reaching a prisoner exchange agreement."
He underlined the need to unite efforts to stop the attacks of the Zionists, "who remain standing with U.S. support."
Haniyeh also praised the Turkish people's intellectual, historical and political stance on the Palestinian cause.
"We still remember President Erdogan lifting the map of Palestine during his speech at the U.N. and explaining how Palestine was gradually occupied in response to Shimon Peres," he said. "We closely monitor Türkiye's position in the region, its regional and international policies, and its stance on the Palestinian cause and Gaza, which are of great importance."
"We still remember how the Turkish people sacrificed martyrs on the Mavi Marmara for the lifting of the blockade in Gaza," Haniyeh said, referring to a deadly raid Israeli forces conducted at a Turkish aid ship in 2010, in which they killed 10 civilian activists trying to breach the Israeli blockade on Gaza.
"During our meeting with Erdoğan, we discussed the decisions taken regarding commercial restrictions on Israel and their effects on commercial activity," Haniyeh continued.
Earlier this month, Türkiye restricted exports of certain products to Israel until it implements a cease-fire and allows a "sufficient and uninterrupted flow" of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
"This is an important step against the Zionist enemies who shed the blood of women, children and elderly Palestinians in attacks on Gaza, threaten Rafah with land attacks and disrespect Muslim holy sites, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem," Haniyed added.
'US protection for Israeli massacres'
Haniyeh also condemned U.S. support for Israel and Washington's veto against the establishment of a Palestinian state at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which he said: "effectively provides political protection for Tel Aviv's actions."
"The U.S. position is deceptive; even though it says it does not want civilians to be harmed, this is an attempt at manipulation," Haniyeh said.
"All the civilians killed in Gaza, thousands, tens of thousands of martyrs, were killed with U.S. weapons, with U.S. rockets, under U.S. political protection. What does the U.S. veto of the cease-fire resolution at the UNSC mean? It means that the U.S. is giving full protection and umbrella to the continuation of the massacres and murders against Gaza."
He added that the U.S. veto of full U.N. membership for Palestine shows that Washington has embraced the Israeli position and opposes the rights of the Palestinian people.
Haniyeh further warned against a possible military operation by the Israeli army in Rafah and said that it could lead to a massacre against the Palestinian people.
"I call on all brotherly countries, our brothers in Egypt, our brothers in Türkiye, our brothers in Qatar as mediators and the European countries to take action to restrain (Israeli) aggression and prevent the operation in Rafah, as well as the complete withdrawal (of the Israeli army) from the Gaza Strip and the end of the attacks on Gaza," he said.
Cease-fire negotiations
Emphasizing that Israel has not accepted a cease-fire in Gaza despite all the negotiations as dozens of proposals have been submitted through mediators, Haniyeh said: "All it wants is to take back the prisoners and then restart the war in Gaza, and this is not possible. The Israeli army must completely withdraw from Gaza. Israel also does not want the displaced people to return to northern Gaza. It accepts a limited and gradual return. It is unacceptable."
He emphasized that Israel proposed a small number of people for a prisoner exchange despite having arrested nearly 14,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza since Oct. 7.
"It is Israel and the U.S., which does not exert any pressure (on Israel), and that is preventing an agreement from being reached. As soon as Israel accepts these demands, we will be ready to reach the agreement," he added.
Haniyeh also slammed Israel's "uncompromising stance" and attributed the failure and interruption of talks to this attitude.
He said Hamas was informed during the meeting with Erdoğan about Ankara's political and diplomatic efforts at the regional and international levels to stop the attacks on Gaza, aid sent to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, and Türkiye's decisions regarding recent trade with Israel.
Haniyeh also said that they discussed the danger to the Al-Aqsa Mosque due to the upcoming Passover in Israel and evaluated developments in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
'Media blackout'
Assessing the media's stance on Gaza, Haniyeh stated that there is good attention and support for what is happening in Gaza in the Turkish, Arab and global media.
He stressed that Israel is imposing a significant media blackout and preventing foreign media members from entering the region to prevent the exposure of its crimes and atrocities from being brought to the attention of the world's public opinion.
Haniyeh urged Turkish media and other outlets to continue exposing Israel's crimes, highlighting the dimensions of the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, and breaking Israel's media blackout.
Following his meeting with Erdoğan in Istanbul, he told AA it is the first time he has spoken to an international media organization since Oct. 7.
Killing of his children
Haniyeh said the attack in which his sons and grandchildren were killed reflected Israel's "failure to achieve military targets for seven months, except for killing civilians, thousands of children, women and the elderly."
"That such a massacre reaching my home, my children and grandchildren will exert pressure on the leader and the leadership of the movement to make concessions in the ongoing negotiations is misleading too," Haniyeh said.
He also expressed gratitude to the Turkish people for holding funeral prayers in absentia for his children and grandchildren in more than 30 cities.