US cool on Turkish PM plans to visit Palestinians

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

Washington's stand on Hamas has 'not changed', said US State Department acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell on March 27. Hürriyet photo

The United States March 27 remained cool to a possible visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the Palestinian territories next month, renewing US opposition to engaging Hamas.

Hot on the heels of last week's breakthrough apology from Israel for the deaths of nine Turkish citizens during a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, Erdoğan said he planned to travel to the Gaza Strip and West Bank in the coming weeks.

He added the aim would be "to help the process" of lifting an Israeli embargo on the Palestinian territories - an issue raised in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Anatolia news agency.

A top US official said Washington shared global concerns about the plight of the Palestinians, including those living in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

But State Department acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell stressed the US continued to "urge all those wishing to provide international humanitarian support to Gaza to do so through established channels, to ensure that the Palestinians' humanitarian needs and Israel's legitimate security needs are both met." Washington's stand on Hamas has also "not changed," he added, noting US "opposition to engagement with Hamas."