They change their residence permit: Hamas wanted to move to Turkey
Another castling is brewing in the Middle East: Hamas, which has quarreled with its long-term patron in the person of Qatar, is trying on the Turkish platform. Ankara, which previously served more as an auxiliary function for the Islamists, can now turn into a full-fledged operational center of the movement. The reason for such changes was the demarche of Doha. Qatar took strict control of the movement of the group's leaders and demanded the approval of every official meeting. The authorities of the Arab monarchy were outraged by the election of Khalil al-Haya, who is considered a protege of Iran in Doha. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
New address
"Hamas is transferring covert operations units, including planning departments and cyber units, as well as headquarters to Turkey amid Qatar's tightening policy," the Israeli state television and radio company Kan reported.
In particular, the security forces of the Arab monarchy restricted the movement of Hamas leaders in the country, obliging them to obtain permission to hold any official meetings.
The reason for this was the group's decision to appoint Khalil al-Haya, who is supported by Iran, as its leader. Doha favored another candidate, Khaled Mashaal, who was interested in close ties with Qatar.
Al-Haya previously served as Hamas' chief negotiator, and on July 20 he was appointed head of the group's politburo. He replaced Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in the Gaza Strip in October 2024. In fact, for a year and a half, Hamas was governed by a collective steering committee.
Despite the misunderstanding, the Qatari authorities "will continue to host the leadership of the terrorist organization and provide a platform for its public events," while the transfer to Turkey primarily concerns the "covert activities of Hamas," the Israeli media writes.
Long-term friendship
Ankara has maintained close ties with the Palestinian Hamas movement for many years. Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize his victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections in the Palestinian Authority.
The close cooperation between the parties created tension in relations with Israel and the West, but at the same time opened up opportunities for Turkey to act as a potential mediator in the Middle East.
After the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Ankara took one of the toughest anti-Israel positions among NATO countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called Hamas not a terrorist organization (as is believed in the West), but a "liberation movement" that is fighting for its lands.
Western media have repeatedly reported on Ankara's cooperation with Islamist organizations in the Middle East, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood (the organization is recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia), as well as the relocation of the group's leadership to Turkey.
The Turkish authorities deny this information. In November 2024, the country's Foreign Ministry denied Israeli press reports about the relocation of the movement's politburo from Doha to Ankara, calling them "untrue."
At the same time, according to experts, Hamas has been institutionally present in Turkey for a long time, and the movement's leaders participate in high-level meetings. In the spring of 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the leadership of Hamas at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
Officially, no, but yes
Turkey and Hamas are not ideologically linked, Ankara is more seeking to strengthen its influence in the Islamic world and establish itself as a key player in resolving the Palestinian problem. This is especially true against the background of the fact that Qatar, the traditional mediator in negotiations with Hamas, has faced pressure from the United States and Israel, which question Doha's neutrality.
In November 2025, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with members of the Hamas political bureau in Istanbul, discussing the situation with the ceasefire in Gaza. Ankara also actively supported the truce agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinian group with the mediation of the United States.
In the West, Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization, so Turkey has to balance between supporting the group and cooperating with the EU and the United States. In 2016, after concluding an agreement to normalize relations with Israel, Ankara pledged to limit the activities of Hamas leaders on its territory.
Turkey hopes to become a new platform for negotiations against the background of Qatar's declining activity in acting as a mediator. And Western countries, concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the possible escalation of the conflict, are talking about their readiness to support Ankara in this role, a source close to the Turkish Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
On July 30, al-Haya held a meeting with Hakan Fidan, and on August 4, with the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, Ibrahim Kalin. It is possible that the relocation of Hamas was discussed at these talks.
— No official information has been received from the Turkish leadership regarding the transfer of part of the group's activities to the territory of the republic. It is only known that the new leadership of Hamas, led by al-Hayya, came to Turkey, they discussed the implementation of the second stage of the settlement plan in Gaza. The essence of this stage is that Hamas agrees to demilitarize, and in return, Israel withdraws troops from the strip," the source said.
He added that Turkey maintains close ties with the leadership of the group.
— She recognizes the organization's resistance to Israel, calling it historic. According to Ankara, Hamas has shown incredible resilience in defending the right of Palestinians to exist in their own state. But at the same time, Turkey does not recognize that Hamas has a permanent representative office on its territory. This has never happened and will never happen," the source stressed.
In this case, he said, "it's more about humanitarian diplomacy, which the country has been conducting for many years." Due to its good relations with Hamas, Ankara may well claim to be one of the participants in the Gaza peace process.
— [US President Donald] By the way, Trump has repeatedly thanked Turkey for its contribution to last year's ceasefire agreement. So this strengthens Turkey's position in the Middle East and helps it win the sympathies of the Arab street, it gives Ankara weight in the region, the Izvestia source is sure.
However, the Turkish Republic's hospitality towards Hamas is unlikely to add points to the country in the eyes of the Israeli leadership. In West Jerusalem, they are already opposed to Ankara's mediation on Gaza.
Against this background, the Trump administration has unveiled a draft demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, agreed with Hamas. In this scenario, international forces have a significant role to play. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the initiative, especially the part where a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave is expected.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
