UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM TURKISH VICE PRESIDENT, PARLIAMENT SPEAKER; CHANGES HEADLINE
By Muhammed Enes Calli, Harun Kutbe and Aynur Ekiz
ISTANBUL / ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has conveyed his condolences to Khaled Meshaal, the acting head of Hamas' political bureau, over the assassination of its former chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X on Friday.
Haniyeh's sons, Abdusselam and Hammam, were also present at the meeting in Doha, the ministry added.
Following a funeral in Tehran, Haniyeh's body arrived in Doha on Thursday, where he was buried on Friday.
The Palestinian resistance group and Iran announced Haniyeh’s assassination in an Israeli attack in Tehran early Wednesday, a day after he attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has remained silent about the killing.
"With all its means and strength, Türkiye will continue to support its oppressed Palestinian brothers, whose resilience remains unwavering even under the most difficult conditions,” Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on X after the funeral for Haniyeh.
“We will continue to work for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Yilmaz added.
During an event organized by the Turkish Embassy in Doha, Yilmaz described the assassination of Haniyeh as an "attack on peace," saying the Israeli government has shown its opposition to peace and intends to continue "bloodshed and massacres."
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus also extended his condolences over the assassination of Haniyeh.
"We bid farewell to our brother Haniyeh with prayers. After the funeral ceremony, we conveyed our condolences to Haniyeh’s esteemed family and to Khaled Meshaal, the acting head of Hamas' political bureau, on behalf of myself and all of Türkiye," Kurtulmus said on X.
Kurtulmus said at a meeting in the Qatari capital Doha that the Palestinian cause is not only for the Palestinians or the Arab world but also for Türkiye as a "national cause."
"Not only since the beginning of events in Gaza but from the very first day of oppression in Palestine, as a nation, we have always stood by the Palestinian cause."
“Furthermore, from the very beginning, both as a nation and as a state, we have managed to unite in our struggle against the massacres in Gaza, which have reached the dimensions of genocide, supported by the world's powers and carried out with the world's gaze upon them,” he added.
Reiterating the call for the establishment of an independent state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders, Kurtulmus added: “The international isolation of Israel in the face of this genocide, and providing all possible support to the Palestinian cause, including seeking trials at the International Court of Justice and, hopefully, later at international criminal courts" is a historic responsibility of all institutions and organizations.
*Zehra Nur Duz contributed to the story in Ankara, Esra Tekin contributed to the story in Istanbul