Hamas thanks Turkey for Israel talks

Palestinian resistance faction Hamas thanked Turkey for supporting the Palestinian issue and proposing the Gaza blockade be lifted for normalization with Israel.

“We offer our thanks to Turkey and its authority for its insistence that Israel lift its blockade of Gaza Strip,” said Khaled Meshal, chief of Hamas' political bureau, in a press conference in Doha.

Meshal said they know Turkey's insistence on the issue kept the two countries from a reconciliation deal for months, but Ankara did it only for thousands of Palestinians.

“Turkey insists on the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip. Its officials have confirmed this. And according to the information we, the leadership of Hamas have, if [Turkey] had wanted an agreement without this condition, they would have reached it long ago,” the Hamas political leader said.

Meshal stressed national unity and consensus of Palestinian territory, saying that Hamas is trying to establish a unity government and bring together the divided territories of Palestine.

“Our projects are not for war, but to save Palestine and resistance. But we will continue to increase the power of resistance to face the worst situation,” he added.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said Thursday that in its ongoing normalization talks with Israel , Ankara will not give up the condition that the blockade on the Gaza strip be lifted.