Trump offers to mediate tensions between Israel, Turkey
Apr 12, 2025
The current ruling party of Turkey, which has been in power for two decades in various forms, has backed Hamas for many years.
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with Hamas leaders in the past, and these meetings did not stop after the October 7 massacre. Instead, Ankara has made its support clear.
Today, key Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh have been killed. Israel’s defeat of Iran in the 12-day war in early June also has led some to believe that Hamas might be more flexible now because Iran has been weakened. Ankara’s outreach shows that Hamas is not isolated. Hamas leaders reside in Qatar as well, a key major non-NATO ally.
According to Al-Arabiya, “Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met a senior Hamas leader on Sunday for talks on Gaza’s humanitarian tragedy and efforts to reach a ceasefire, state news agency Anadolu reported.” The report went on to note that “Kalin held talks with Mohammed Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas that rules Gaza, and his delegation at an undisclosed location, Anadolu said, citing security sources.”
According to the report, the Hamas delegation discussed the “humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza. The delegation also spoke about “the need to reach a consensus among Palestinian groups during this critical period ... (and) the steps to be taken to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.” The meeting took place in the context of ongoing discussions about a possible ceasefire. US President Donald T
Hamas expected to respond to ceasefire proposal after it was greenlight by Israel earlier in the week
Hamas is supposed to reply to the US initiative on July 4, a Friday. July 4 is also America’s Independence Day and a holiday in the US.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to fly to the US over the weekend. As such, this is an important time for Hamas and also for Hamas's hosts and backers, such as Qatar and Turkey.
Turkey and Qatar are both US allies. Trump has also said in the past he is close to Turkey’s president. As such, Turkey has an influence on US policy. The US push for a deal could also prompt Qatar to pressure Hamas to agree. Many issues are in the air, and the Turkey meeting is a key part of this.
The meeting in Turkey was reported in several publications besides Turkey’s Anadolu and Al-Arabiya. Middle East Monitor also covered the meeting. Kalin is a key figure in Erdogan’s circles. As the head of Turkey’s intelligence apparatus today, he has served Erdogan as Presidential Press Secretary and later as a Senior Advisor over the last decade. He has thus been central to key decision-making by Ankara.rump has said that he hopes a 60-day ceasefire might lead to a wider deal.
