Turkey cannot mediate hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli sources say – Israel News
Turkey cannot become a mediator for a Gaza hostage deal, Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post after KAN News reported that several Hamas leaders had been in Turkey.
“I am not aware of any Turkish involvement, nor do I think there could be any,” a source told the Post. Qatar, along with Egypt, has been the main mediators in an agreement to secure the release of the remaining 101. hostages, along with the help of the United States.
Talks have been largely frozen since Hamas executed six of the hostages, including Israeli-American prisoner Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in late August.
Donald Trump’s re-election as US president on November 5 has made it harder for Biden officials to have the leverage needed to strike a deal as President Joe Biden is set to leave the White House on January 20.
Hopes were briefly raised last month that negotiations could resume in the wake of the Israeli assassination of Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
Hamas has rejected all offers
US officials said last week that Hamas had rejected all offers, including a mini-deal designed as a confidence-building measure toward a bigger one.
Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Israel Katz held a meeting on the hostages, with IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar, IDF Major General. (res.)
Nitzan Alon, Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Major General. (ret.) Eyal Zamir, and the coordinator for the hostages and the missing Brigadier General. (res.) Gal Hirsch.
Hamas official Basem Naim told Sky News this weekend that “we are ready to release all these captured Israelis” if they swapped Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The last agreement took place in July, but no “serious proposals” have been made since then, Naim said.
Hamas has generally insisted that Israel must end the war and withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip before considering a deal. Israel has insisted it can continue its military campaign.
“We are immediately ready for a ceasefire to end this war and for a serious prisoner exchange,” Naim said. In response, Qatar suspended its participation in the hostage negotiations until Israel and Hamas were serious about a deal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed last week that Qatar has also asked the Hamas leadership to leave, a move the US has sought as a pressure tactic to help force a deal.
Qatar had argued that its power to mediate stemmed from Hamas’s presence in its country and has not publicly acknowledged that it asked Hamas to leave.
KAN News sparked speculation on Monday about Turkey’s involvement in the mediation when it reported that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey.
A Turkish diplomatic source on Monday denied reports that Hamas had moved its political office from Qatar to Turkey, adding that members of the Palestinian militant group only occasionally visited the country.
NATO member Turkey has strongly criticized Israel for its offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Some Hamas political officials regularly visit Turkey.
Early in the Gaza war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had proposed acting as a mediator. Turkey has played that role for Israel in the past, but the high tension between Ankara and Jerusalem makes it difficult for Israel to imagine Turkey in that role.
Reuters contributed to this report.
