Long-standing ties, political power in the Islamic world, legitimacy in the broader Middle East, and millions of dollars are involved in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s relationship with Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh. His assassination has plunged the political leadership of the neighboring country into turmoil.

In honoring the memory of the assassinated leader of the Palestinian Islamist organization and Israel’s main interlocutor in the peace negotiations, the “Sultan” declared national mourning and held a memorial service inside the Hagia Sophia during Haniyeh’s burial in Doha, saying goodbye to him from the most emblematic monument of Istanbul.

The Turkish president’s public lament for the Palestinian leader, however, offered a glimpse into the constant verbal threats he has been unleashing against Israel recently. Erdoğan even left open the possibility of a Turkish invasion, while the Turkish Foreign Ministry has called the actions of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “genocide,” comparing him to Hitler.

Erdogan declared national mourning and held a memorial service inside the Hagia Sophia during Ismail Haniyeh’s burial in Doha.

“Free” to Hamas

The Turkish president’s close personal relationship with the head of the Hamas political bureau was not new, as the late Haniyeh used to spend considerable time in Türkiye, often gazing at the Bosphorus. Many leading members of Hamas have found refuge in Turkey in recent years with the full tolerance and support of the Erdoğan administration. The free entry of Hamas leaders into Turkish territory, although widely known, had been assessed as controlled by the international community.

Given Ankara’s tense relationship with Tel Aviv, the “freedom” of Hamas in Turkey was diplomatically seen as a balancing act by Erdoğan towards Israel’s policy and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, against whom the Turkish president launches incendiary attacks at every opportunity, calling him, among other things, “the butcher of Gaza.”

Benjamin Netanyahu is called “the butcher of Gaza” and “the new Hitler” by the Turkish president.

Ideology and Expansion

Beyond the conflictual relationship between Türkiye and Israel over regional hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean, the climate between the two countries deteriorated sharply in 2010 with the loss of nine Turks when Israeli troops stormed the “Mavi Marmara,” a ship accompanying a flotilla with aid to Gaza. For several analysts, however, the ties that Erdoğan had forged with the leadership of Hamas, especially with the assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, go beyond his anti-Zionist rhetoric and primarily serve Turkey’s personal and national interests.

Israeli Attack on the Mavi Marmara – 1 hour raw footage (2010)

Gradually familiarizing Turkish public opinion with “the resistance movement that defends the Palestinian homeland against an occupying force,” as the Turkish president officially calls Hamas, Erdoğan’s public contacts with leading figures of the organization have become increasingly frequent since August 2020. High-ranking Palestinian delegations frequently visit the presidential offices in both Istanbul and Ankara, with Ismail Haniyeh almost always present.

As a gesture of respect and appreciation, Erdoğan warmly greeted the slain Hamas leader during his visit in April this year, the first since the October 7 invasion, releasing snapshots of their warm handshake and Erdoğan’s triple hug with the Hamas leader, a move that automatically ranked him among Erdogan’s close friends after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting behind closed doors.

Erdoğan shakes hands with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

In his bilateral meetings with the Palestinian delegation, Erdoğan took care to express his sympathies at every opportunity, even when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was also present, as in July 2023.