Israel DM To Demand Turkey Expel Hamas Leaders
High-level security sources in Tel Aviv revealed that Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz will demand Turkey expel Hamas leaders from the country and stop its criticism of the occupation state’s military operations against Palestinians.
The sources said: “The Minister of Security will tell his Turkish counterpart that Israel does not accept that Ankara hosts senior Hamas officials such as Saleh Al-Arouri and others.”
Gantz, they said, will also say Turkey must stop condemning what the sources called “the permanent Israeli security activities”, in reference to the Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank.
“After a security rupture that lasted for more than a decade, Israel wants to resume the security relations with Turkey,” the sources explained. However, they ruled out any security cooperation between the two in the near term and said that there are still major differences between them.
The request, the paper explained, came as a result of fear of being criticized by the US and accused of supporting terrorism.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that Turkey asked the leaders of Hamas who reside in Turkey to reduce their military activities against Israel, explaining that the Turkish request was conveyed to the leader of the movement Saleh Al-Arouri.
