FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES
Turkey’s wooing of Israel may lead to Hamas ouster
Enia Krivine
May 25, 2022

Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, visited Israel this week, a sign that Israel and Turkey may be on a path to reconciliation, after a decade of antagonism. However, Jerusalem has made it clear to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the expulsion of Hamas leaders from Turkish soil is a prerequisite for closer ties. It remains unclear if Ankara has finally kicked out the Gaza-based terrorist organization. What is clear is that if Hamas loses its Turkish sanctuary, its options for a new one are limited. For the past ten years, Saleh al Arouri has been operating a Hamas headquarters in Istanbul. Arouri is a United States-designated and sanctioned terrorist with a $5 million (NIS 16.8 m.) bounty on his head. READ MORE