According to a British report, Israel updated Turkey several times regarding Hamas activity in its territory • Last weekend, Erdogan met with Ismail Haniyeh • In the past year, a dozen Hamas activists from Gaza have moved to Gaza, including a member of the squad responsible for carrying out the attack at AfroPop Cafe

The Telegraph newspaper reported on Wednesday that Hamas members are working in Turkey to plan terrorist attacks in Israel - without interruption by the authorities. Transcripts from Israeli police investigations show that senior Hamas activists are using Istanbul to organize their offensive operations in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, including the attempted assassination of the mayor of Jerusalem earlier this year.

President Erdogan // Photo: IP

According to the Telegraph, Israel has updated Turkey several times about Hamas activity in its territory, and last weekend Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan met with Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh and Turkish intelligence agents who are in close contact with Istanbul activists. Erdogan noted: "We will continue to support our brothers in Palestine."

The Telegraph added that Turkey is warmly hosting Hamas officials and Salah al-Aruri, the deputy head of the bureau's political bureau, which the United States has announced will grant $ 5 million for extradition, traveling to the Muslim state freely without fear of arrest. Also, according to Israeli and Egyptian intelligence records, a dozen Hamas activists have moved to Istanbul from the Gaza Strip in the past year. Among the activists is also Abdel Rahman Janivat, a member of the Hamas squad responsible for a series of suicide bombings in Israel, including a 1997 terror attack in the "Afropo" cafe in Tel Aviv, in which three women were murdered.

Turkey is currently facing questions from the Western Allies for its support for extremist insurgents in northern Syria and its commitment to NATO after purchasing a Russian missile system. Israeli sources said that in Turkey's contacts with Israel through the United States in 2015, it agreed to curtail Hamas' actions to plan terrorist attacks from its land, but did not consistently respect the agreement.

The attack on the "Apropo" cafe // Photo: Shlomi Bochacho

Although diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey continue in their order, the issue has led to hostility between the two countries. "Israel is very concerned about Turkey allowing Hamas terrorists to act on its territory, planning and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Turkish government is allowing Hamas operations in Istanbul, as Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia have begun to move closer to Israel. All this, despite the fact that the EU and the United States have declared Hamas a terrorist organization, and the United Kingdom defines Hamas' military wing as a terrorist group.

Ismail Haniyeh // Photo: IP