October 20, 2023 | Foreign Policy
Why Erdogan Is Unlikely to Cut Ties With Hamas
It seems that the Turkish president is once again ready to burn bridges with Israel.
October 20, 2023 | Foreign Policy
Why Erdogan Is Unlikely to Cut Ties With Hamas
It seems that the Turkish president is once again ready to burn bridges with Israel.
Excerpt
Since Hamas carried out its barrage of deadly attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, Turkey has come under the spotlight for its relationship with the Islamist militant group. Ankara has been a material supporter and enabler of Hamas since 2011. However, until last week, this was mainly perceived by the United States to be a problem only in that it served as a roadblock in Turkey’s attempts to normalize its relationship with Israel. Now, the United States and Israel will likely increase pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cut ties with Hamas.
What are the chances that Erdogan will comply with such a request—and why does he have a relationship with Hamas to begin with?
Sinan Ciddi is an associate professor of national security studies at Marine Corps University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.