The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department was stern in his warning to Türkiye about siding with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. As he was tackling questions on reports of Hamas leaders settling in Türkiye, Matthew Miller said on Monday that Washington would make clear to the Turkish government that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.
The U.S. is a major ally of Türkiye, as well as Israel and recognizes Hamas as a terrorist group, unlike Ankara. Yet, despite the alliance, Türkiye’s call for the extradition of members of a terrorist group residing in the U.S. and support for another terrorist group in Syria fell on deaf ears in the White House.
This did not stop Miller from reminding journalists at a news briefing in the White House that Hamas leaders were under U.S. indictment and they should be turned over to the U.S.
“We don’t believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organization should be living comfortably anywhere and that certainly includes in … a major city of one of our key allies and partners,” Miller told reporters at the State Department, some 215 miles (some 345 kilometers) away from Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania where ringleader of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) wanted by Türkiye died last month.
Miller’s remarks came hours after Türkiye denied reports that the Hamas political bureau left offices in Qatar and moved to the country. A Turkish diplomatic source dismissed on Monday reports that Hamas had moved its political office to Türkiye, adding that members of the Palestinian group only visited the country from time to time. Qatar said last week it had told Hamas and Israel that it would suspend efforts to mediate a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal until both show seriousness about resuming talks. Doha also said media reports that it had told Hamas to leave the Gulf Arab country were not accurate. Later on Monday, Hamas dismissed the reports as “rumors the (Israeli) occupation is trying to publish from time to time.”
NATO member Türkiye has fiercely criticized Israel over its offensives in the Gaza Strip in Lebanon and does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Similarly, the U.S. does not consider YPG, the Syria wing of the terrorist group PKK, as a terrorist group, though the latter is on the list of foreign terrorist organizations according to the State Department’s own website.
Ankara repeatedly criticized Washington for turning down extradition requests for Fetullah Gülen and other senior members of the terrorist group who were behind a deadly coup attempt in Türkiye in 2016. Gülen lived freely in the U.S. since he first arrived in 1999 and even hosted fellow FETÖ members who fled justice in Türkiye. The U.S. is among safe havens for the terrorist group’s prominent names who sought asylum there before and after the 2016 coup attempt.
Washington’s unwavering military support to YPG under the guise of a joint fight against Daesh is also slammed by Türkiye, which has suffered from multiple attacks by PKK terrorists since the 1980s.