Turkey can’t become a mediator for a Gaza hostage deal, Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post after KAN News reported that several Hamas leaders had been in Turkey.
“I don’t know of any Turkish involvement, and I don’t think there could be,” one source told the Post.Qatar, along with Egypt, have been the main mediators for a deal to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages, together with the help of the United States.
Talks have largely been frozen since Hamas executed six of the hostages at the end of August, including Israeli-American captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Donald Trump’s reelection to the US presidency on November 5 has made it more difficult for Biden officials to have the clout necessary to make a deal, given that President Joe Biden is set to leave the White House on January 20.
Hope was raised briefly last month that negotiations could resume in the aftermath of the Israeli assassination of Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
Hamas rejected all offers
US officials said last week that Hamas had rejected all offers, including a mini-deal designed as a confidence-building measure toward a larger one.
Earlier in the day Defense Minister Israel Katz held a consultation regarding the hostages, with IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar, IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.)
Nitzan Alon, Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Eyal Zamir, and the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch.
Hamas official Basem Naim told Sky News over the weekend that “we are ready to release all these captured Israelis” if they would swap Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails.
The last brokered deal was in July, but since then, there have not been “any serious proposals,” Naim said.
Hamas has, in general, insisted that Israel must end the war and completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip before it would consider a deal. Israel has insisted that it be able to continue its military campaign.
“We are ready immediately for a ceasefire to end this war to go for a serious prisoner exchange,” Naim said.Qatar, in response, suspended its participation in the hostage negotiations until such time that Israel and Hamas were serious about a deal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed last week that Qatar has also asked the Hamas leadership to leave, a move that the US has sought as a pressure tactic to help force a deal.
Qatar had argued that its power to mediate came from Hamas’s presence in its country and has not publicly acknowledged that it asked Hamas to leave.
KAN News on Monday sparked speculation as to Turkey’s involvement in the mediation when it reported that some Hamas leaders had relocated to Turkey.
A Turkish diplomatic source dismissed on Monday reports that Hamas had moved its political office to Turkey from Qatar, adding that members of the Palestinian militant group only occasionally visited the country.
NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel over its offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Some Hamas political officials regularly visit Turkey.
Early in the Gaza war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had proposed acting as a mediator. Turkey has in the past played that role for Israel, but the high level of tension between Ankara and Jerusalem makes it difficult for Israel to envision Turkey in that role.
Reuters contributed to this report.