Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met Wednesday at the home of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey's official news agency reported.
Reunited after several years of falling out
"President Erdogan met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh at the presidential palace," Anadolu Agency wrote. No details have filtered on the content of the exchanges.
The last meeting between the two rival Palestinian leaders dates from July 5, 2022 in Algiers: after several years of falling out, they were then brought together by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Mahmoud Abbas was received Tuesday afternoon by Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he gave a press conference. He assured on this occasion that Turkey "will continue to support the Palestinian cause by all possible means".
Benjamin Netanyahu's visit postponed
Turkey had strongly condemned in early April the clashes in the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Recep Tayyip Erdogan believing that Israel had crossed a "red line". The meetings of Palestinian officials come at a standstill in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process amid the most significant violence in the occupied West Bank in years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Turkey was initially announced this week before being postponed. The latter is facing a serious political crisis and a general strike after Parliament adopted a key measure of a controversial judicial reform project.