One of the conditions reached in the ‘understanding’ between Jerusalem and Ankara towards normalizing relations is the ousting of senior Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri from Istanbul. Al-Arouri was responsible for planning the attack which led to the abduction and murders of the Gush Etzion Kedoshim HY”D, Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach.

Despite the move, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan recently met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal and after ousting al-Arouri this week stated this does not mean he is shutting down Hamas operations in his country nor will he stop moral and financial support for the terror organization.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)