Turkey PM urges Palestinian reconciliation in meeting with Hamas leader
Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh meets with Turkish PM Recip Tayyip Erdogan as part of official tour of the Muslim world.
By The Associated Press
Turkey's prime minister on Sunday welcomed efforts toward reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions during a meeting with the Hamas premier of the Gaza Strip, Turkey's state-run news agency reported.
Ismail Haniyeh is on an official tour of the Muslim world, his first trip outside the blockaded territory since the Islamist group took over Gaza in 2007. Turkey is trying to help efforts toward a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions.
Haniyeh met Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at the Turkish leader's Istanbul residence. Erdogan expressed hope that the Palestinians "attain an all-encompassing umbrella organization with strong democratic representation powers," the Anadolu Agency reported.
Erdogan's spokesman was not available for comment.
On Monday, the Hamas prime minister will meet the head of an Islamic aid group whose Gaza-bound vessel was the target of a deadly raid by Israeli troops in 2010. Turkey's ties with Israel, a former ally, deteriorated sharply over the flotilla raid that killed nine activists on the Turkish boat, and Erdogan has demanded that Israel lift all restrictions on the Palestinian territory.
in full: http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/turkey-pm-urges-palestinian-reconciliation-in-meeting-with-hamas-leader-1.404950