A Middle Eastern news portal has reported that Hamas is celebrating the victory in local elections by the party of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to a report by Al-Monitor:
Hamas
April 4, 2013 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas, at all levels, did not hide its joy regarding the victory of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in last weekend’s municipal elections. Hamas leaders made a slew of congratulatory calls and sent cables to the Turkish party’s leadership, reflecting the close relationship that binds the movement with the Turkish ruling party.
Thousands of Hamas members in the Jabaliya refugee camp, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, took part in a mass rally on the evening of March 31, called for by the movement to celebrate Erdogan’s election victory. Some rally participants handed out sweets to express their joy, as did some members of Hamas’ Palestinian police in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Meanwhile, social networking pages of Hamas activists were flooded with congratulatory statements for the victory of the AKP, as well as pictures showing Hamas leaders with Erdogan.
Political analyst Akram Atallah told Al-Monitor that Hamas is ‘searching for a ray of hope to restore the psychological balance in the ranks of the political Islamic alliance, which has started to lose in the region since last summer. Hamas celebrated the victory of the Justice and Development Party, which shows that it is searching for an opportunity among all these setbacks suffered by political Islam in the region.’
Turkey is the only NATO country that officially welcomes Hamas leaders and backs the movement politically. Furthermore, Ankara endeavors to open lines of communication between Hamas and other countries.
The GMBDW reported last week that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood had issued a statement congratulating “the Turkish” people on the strong support shown for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent local elections.
In 2011, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) published a report on the background to the flotilla authored by the GMBDW editor titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla.” The report abstract states:
There is strong evidence for Turkish governmental involvement in the Gaza flotilla incident, with Turkish government support channeled through the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood. The IHH was not acting alone but rather was an integral part of a Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network.
With respect to the Global Muslim Brotherhood, report’s second conclusion states:
The Gaza flotilla incident brought into sharp focus an even more significant long- term development: the growing relationship between the Erdogan government and the Global Muslim Brotherhood, which has given rise to some of the most notorious Islamist terrorist groups – from al-Qaeda to Hamas. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood, while the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip acted as the main axis for this activity.
