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Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/why-turkey-cant-bring-peace-to-gaza
Why Turkey Can't Bring Peace to Gaza
(National Interest) Sinan Ciddi and William Doran - Turkish President Erdogan seeks to co-broker the Gaza peace process for his own prestige, to Hamas's benefit, and at Israel's expense. It's part of his quest to cement Ankara's status as a regional Islamic power. The glaring problem with Erdogan's dream is his unflinching sympathy for and sponsorship of Hamas. Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist group and, with Iran and Qatar, sponsors the organization's activities. Several key Hamas militant leaders and financiers live in Turkey. Erdogan has never condemned Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre and has openly praised the terror group as "liberators." Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told pro-government Turkish media recently that Turkey is preparing to become Gaza's security "guarantor" as it is for Northern Cyprus. Yet the realistic extent to which Erdogan can pursue his ambition of a Turkish quasi-protectorate in Gaza is dubious. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has vehemently objected to any Turkish force presence. The presence of armed Turkish forces in Gaza increases the likelihood of weapons and cash flowing into Hamas's arms once more. Even Turkish aid organizations, given their ideological inclinations, ought to be subject to international supervision. Erdogan's bargaining chip is that he can talk to Hamas, and they will listen. But that is, after all, the kind of leverage seen in friends of terrorists. Sinan Ciddi is a Senior Fellow on Turkey at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where William Doran is a research intern.