Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, a frequent visitor to Türkiye, held talks with Temel Karamollaoğlu, head of the opposition Felicity Party (SP). The party’s lawmakers and other officials also attended the meeting in Istanbul.
Media reports said Karamollaoğlu and Haniyeh discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and other challenges the Palestinian people faced. They emphasized the need for more steps by the international community to promote Palestine's freedom and independence, while Karamollaoğlu underlined their support for the Palestinian people and stressed the need for solidarity in the Islamic world for Palestine.
Saadet, a member of the "table for six" alliance of the 2023 elections, was allied with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) back then. CHP brands Hamas a terrorist group, unlike the government, which views them as a resistance movement. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, a prominent figure in the party, recently told CNN International that Hamas carried out a terror attack on Oct. 7, drawing the ire of pro-Palestinian circles in Türkiye, including the AK Party. Saadet was founded by Necmettin Erbakan, the legendary leader of the Welfare Party (RP), which faced a political ban. The former prime minister was the political mentor of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause.
