Turkey’s Erdogan pushes for Palestinian reconciliation

This is an excerpt from Turkey Briefing, Al-Monitor’s weekly newsletter covering the big stories of the week in Turkey. To get Turkey Briefing in your inbox, sign up here.

Amid signs that Hamas’ political wing and Fatah are exploring a reconciliation, Erdogan signaled that Turkey is in the loop on ongoing talks between the two rival Palestinian groups.

“[Hamas and Fatah] are in talks, and it is possible for them to take these talks further,” Erdogan said. “I believe that there are many things that we, as Turkey, have done and can do on this issue,” the Turkish president was quoted as telling reporters on his return from Hungary, according to an official transcript released on Tuesday. 

Describing the rival groups as being like “flesh and bone,” he said, “Right now, we need to strive to preserve this unity.”