Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) with
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh (L) CREDIT: Anadolu
August 14, 2020.
Turkey is granting citizenship to senior operatives of a
Hamas terrorist cell, the Telegraph has learned, raising fears that the
Palestinian group will have greater freedom to plot attacks on Israeli citizens
around the world.
Turkish identity papers seen by the Telegraph show that at
least one of 12 senior Hamas members, who are using the country as a base of
operations, has received Turkish citizenship and an 11-digit identity
number.
According to a senior source, seven of the 12
operatives have received Turkish citizenship, as well as passports, while the
other five are in the process of receiving them. In some cases, the operatives
are living under Turkish aliases.
Hamas is
proscribed by the United States and the European Union as a terrorist
organisation, while in Britain the group's armed wing has been banned.
Hamas says its main goal is to liberate Palestinians from Israeli
occupation and establish an Islamic state.
However, Turkey insists the group is a legitimate political
movement which has been democratically elected in Gaza.
A senior source in the region claimed of the
operatives: "These are not foot soldiers but the most senior Hamas
operatives outside of Gaza. [They] are actively raising funds and directing
operatives to carry out attacks in the present day.”
"The Turkish Government gave in to pressure by Hamas to
grant citizenship to its operatives, thereby allowing them to travel more
freely, endangering other countries that have listed Hamas as a terror group,”
the source claimed.
When contacted by the Telegraph about the allegations, a
spokesman for the Turkish government declined to comment on what it described
as baseless claims against Turkey by a foreign government.
Palestinian
members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas
movement, take part in a gathering on January 31, 2016 CREDIT: AFP
A senior Hamas official denied the allegations,
insisting that its members did not operate outside the Palestinian territories
and had no role in terrorist activity.
The disclosure is likely to alarm the Israeli government and
its Western allies, as the former has repeatedly warned Ankara about Hamas
activities on Turkish soil.
Turkish passport holders are entitled to visa-free travel to
Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Serbia, among other countries. But Turkey is
lobbying to extend those privileges to EU countries, where Hamas is feared to
be plotting attacks on Israeli citizens.
It comes after a Telegraph investigation revealed that
Turkey was hosting some of the Hamas movement’s most senior figures and
allowing them to plan attacks from Istanbul, including an assassination plot
against the mayor of Jerusalem. Turkey has denied that it allows Hamas
members to plot attacks in its territory.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, is currently visiting
Turkey, where he is due to hold a series of meetings with senior figures --
potentially including Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The two men met last December in Istanbul and posed for a
photograph. “We will keep on supporting our brothers in Palestine," Mr
Erdogan said at the time.
Among those understood to have received Turkish citizenship
is Zacharia Najib, the senior Hamas operative who oversaw a plot to assassinate
the mayor of Jerusalem, as well as other Israeli public figures.
Jihad Ya’amor and Hisham Hijaz, two other senior Hamas
officials, are also said to have received Turkish citizenship and
passports.
In some cases, the families of the operatives have been
granted citizenship. The operatives are considered as “active,” rather than
retired, and are working to raise funds for Hamas and lead its operations,
sources said.
Nearly all of the 12 operatives were released and deported
from Israel under the Shalit Deal of 2011, in which 1,027 mostly Palestinian
prisoners were set free in exchange for an Israeli soldier.
Israel has repeatedly warned Turkey that Hamas is using its
territory to plot attacks, but Ankara has not taken action, prompting
accusations that Mr Erdogan is turning a blind eye to terrorist
activity. Turkey has denied that it turns a blind eye to
terrorism.
Turkish support for Hamas has strained diplomatic relations
with Israel, which recently warned it was “extremely concerned” about the group
operating in Turkey.
The disclosure may add to the worries of Western allies
about Turkey, which is a member of Nato but has been strongly criticised for
purchasing an S-400 missile system from Russia.
Telegraph.co.uk,
al Hurra.com
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