Turkey's Erdogan brings rival Palestinian leaders together in rare meeting

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a rare meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday, the Turkish presidency has announced.

According to the Turkish presidency, Erdogan told the leaders that the division among the Palestinians serves actors who want to undermine the efforts to settle the Palestinian conflict.

The rare meeting between the rival Palestinian leaders comes ahead of reconciliation talks between major Palestinian groups including Abbas-led Fatah and Hamas set to be held Sunday in Cairo, Egypt. Abbas and Haniyeh last met in July 2022, when Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune hosted the two leaders in Algiers — the first such meeting since 2016. Tebboune also visited Turkey last Saturday, indicating increasing regional efforts to convince rival Palestinian groups to advance their dialogue.

The meeting in Ankara took place as part of Abbas’ two-day state visit to Turkey.

Speaking at a joint news conference after his one-on-one meeting with Abbas on Tuesday, Erdogan stressed the importance of Palestinian unity.

“Reconciliation among our Palestinian brothers is one of the key elements in this process. I told my dear friend that we are ready to give all sorts of support in this regard,” Erdogan said.

Sunday's meeting in Cairo aims to revive reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian groups. Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced earlier this week it wouldn’t attend the talks in Cairo due to the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority's recent crackdown on its members in the West Bank.