President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has since last year been engaged in a charm offensive directed at Israel. His essential antipathy to the Jewish state has not changed, but the Turkish economy is in a mess, with an 80% inflation rate.
There is, however, one insurmountable obstacle to a full restoration of trust between the two countries. Ever since 2020, Erdogan has provided Turkish citizenship and passports to several dozen of Hamas’ top operatives, making their travels easier throughout Europe, and their ability to hatch plots against Israel more secure.
Erdogan wants the world to believe that Hamas is not a “terrorist organization”, but about the “terrorist” status of the Kurdish People’s Party (PKK), Erdogan has no doubts.