Turkey welcomes Hamas-Fatah reconciliation

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkey has welcomed the reconciliation agreement signed between rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah.

“This reconciliation agreement concludes the conflict among our Palestinian brothers,” Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said in a statement on Oct. 14.

He added that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had always supported the talks, and had held meetings with the Hamas and Fatah leaders.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu spoke over the phone with senior Palestinian officials late on Oct. 13.

The ministry said in a statement that said Çavuşoğlu spoke with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

On Oct. 12, Hamas and Fatah signed a landmark reconciliation deal in Cairo aimed at ending ten years of crippling inter-Palestinian political division. Under the terms of the deal, the Ramallah-based Palestinian unity government will assume political and administrative responsibility for the Gaza Strip no later than Dec. 1.

Kalın urged international organizations, especially the U.N., to end the humanitarian crisis, revive the peace process and take steps toward the two-state solution.

“Israel should end its siege on Palestinian lands and avoid any movement that would harm the reconciliation process,” he said.

The West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip have remained politically divided since 2007, when Hamas wrested control of the strip from Fatah following several days of bloody street fighting.