(Financial Times-UK) Mehul Srivastava and Laura Pitel - At Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the faithful often hold up portraits of Turkish President Erdogan, worshipping under the gleaming gold crescent on the Dome of the Rock that was paid for by Turkey. Erdogan's popularity with Palestinians comes as their cause has slid down the list of regional concerns, sidelined by Israel's wooing of the Gulf states. For Israel the most troubling aspect is his embrace of Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel, the EU and the U.S. In the past decade, Turkey has funded hospitals, schools and economic projects both in Gaza, run by Hamas, and in the West Bank. Erdogan has made the Al Aqsa Mosque a centerpiece of his pledges to liberate Palestine. Erdogan's embrace of Hamas makes ideological sense. The Islamist militant group drew inspiration from the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. The Turkish president, whose own roots lie in Islamist politics, views the Brotherhood and its offshoots as fellow travelers.
2020-09-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive