Turkish support for Hamas

National Intelligence Organization (MİT) head Ibrahim Kalin has reportedly met with Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group.

Turkey is attempting the impossible by trying to reestablish a productive relationship with the US while declaring his unreserved support for Hamas, and Congress may be gearing up to push back. After suffering his greatest electoral defeat on March 31, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan is attempting to rebuild his image with Turkish voters. His first move instituting trade restrictions on Israel.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he does not believe the Palestinian militant group Hamas will leave Qatar, where it is based, adding he had seen no such signs that Doha wished the group to leave, either.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday received Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul as Middle East tensions run high.

The meeting at the Dolmabahce palace on the banks of the Bosphorus began shortly after 2:30 pm (1130 GMT) and lasted about two and a half hours.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during his visit to Qatar on Wednesday. 

According to a Turkish diplomatic source, the meeting centered on providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, ceasefire negotiations and efforts to secure the release of hostages. 

Fidan was in Qatar to hold talks with his Qatari counterpart. 

A spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry has responded to recent statements made by Israeli officials against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accusing them of attempting to shift the focus away from their country's actions in Gaza.

Turkish authorities detained seven people suspected of selling information to Israel's Mossad intelligence service in connection with tracking and monitoring local targets, a Turkish security official said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has arrived in New York to participate in the U.N. Security Council meeting on Palestine scheduled for Jan. 23.

The gathering aims to address "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question."

The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah said on Telegram that it views the killings of senior Hamas members in Beirut as a "serious attack on Lebanon" and a "dangerous development in the course of the war between the enemy and the axis of resistance," Reuters reported.

Citizens in Israel are terrified and speechless, trying to understand the inability of the army and its secret services to confront Hamas terrorism, while Greece and Turkey are working on mutual respect and cooperation based on NATO military confidence building measures.