Senior Turkish official meets top Hamas leader in Qatar; Erdoğan again compares Netanyahu to Hitler

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The Turkish government dispatched the country’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, to Doha on Sunday to meet with Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire with Israel.

Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has developed close ties with the Palestinian terrorist organization, which has led to strained relations with Israel.

While not confirmed, social media reports indicate that Haniyeh passed a dossier to the Turkish intelligence chief that could be used in the ongoing South African “genocide” case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Turkey, which refuses to condemn the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, or brand the group a terrorist organization, recently decided to join the lawsuit against Israel in The Hague. The ICJ has so far not found any credible evidence to support the claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Erdoğan recently accused Western nations of not applying sufficient pressure on Israel to end its military operation against Hamas in Gaza. Erdoğan blamed Israel and the West for the lack of a truce.

“It has become clear who sides with peace and dialogue, and who wants clashes continuing and more bloodshed,” the Turkish leader said.

“And did Netanyahu see any serious reaction for his spoiled behavior? No. Neither Europe nor America showed a reaction that would force Israel into a ceasefire.”

Erdoğan also claimed that Israel is killing civilians in Rafah, even though the Israeli military has invested considerable resources into moving large numbers of Gazan civilians out of harm’s way, often protecting them from the terrorists, who systematically use them as human shields.

On May 7, Israeli forces captured the strategically important Rafah Crossing after Hamas terrorists killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded 10 more Israelis in a rocket barrage targeting the Kerem Shalom border crossing. Israel had only just reopened the crossing to increase the inflow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“Netanyahu has reached a level that would make Hitler jealous with his genocidal methods,” Erdoğan said of Israel's leader.

This is not the first time that the Turkish president has made inflammatory statements about Israel's top leader.

In March, Erdoğan blasted Israel for defending itself against Hamas while comparing Netanyahu to history’s worst genocidal despots.

“Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like today’s Nazis,” Erdoğan said at the time.

Netanyahu responded by accusing Erdoğan of being a hypocrite.

“Erdoğan, who is committing genocide against the Kurds and who holds the world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his regime, is the last person who can preach morality to us,” the Israeli prime minister said.

In early May, Turkey announced it would end all trade with Israel because of the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned Erdoğan and accused him of deliberately harming commercial relations between the two countries.

“Erdoğan crossed a line and blocked ports for Israeli exports and imports. This is how a dictator behaves – trampling on the interests of the Turkish people, businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements.”