The Jerusalem Post reports: “Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar over the weekend. The meeting came as the Turkish official was attending a ministerial meeting focusing on Turkey’s ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council. Turkey’s current leadership are backers of Hamas, and they have hosted Hamas leaders numerous times, including after the Hamas massacre of October 7. Turkey is also a member of NATO. It is one of two western allies, along with Qatar, that support Hamas…

A photo posted by Fidan showed both men seated. There were no flags in the meeting. The men sat in front of a giant image of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Ankara has sought to position itself as the main backer of Hamas in this current conflict. It has also sought to legitimize Hamas through meetings such as this, to make Hamas appear to be the government of not just Gaza, but also of the Palestinians in general. This is designed to create an image for Hamas that makes it seem like Hamas could one day govern the West Bank as well…”