Turkey Says Hamas Is Ready To Give Up Power In Gaza

Foreign Minister Fidan while chairing a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Muslim-majority countries in Istanbul. (Twitter/@ForeignMinistry)

JAKARTA - Palestinian militant group Hamas is ready to hand over control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian committee, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after a meeting of ministers from Arab and Muslim countries seeking to advance a fragile ceasefire.

Turkey has been in close contact with Hamas in recent weeks and, along with Egypt, has taken advantage of its close ties with the group to encourage its leaders to accept an agreement early last month.

The ceasefire plan initiated by US President Donald Trump consists of 20 points, including clauses that require Hamas and other Palestinian factions not to play any role in the future in the Gaza government and to lay down arms, points that the group refuses to confirm.

"Hamas is ready to hand over Gaza's government to a committee consisting of Palestinians," Foreign Minister Fidan told a news conference in Istanbul, launching The National November 4.

"As long as this agreement protects the rights of the Palestinian people, this agreement will be resilient over time against provocations," he said.

Foreign Minister Fidan's remarks show Turkey and Qatar two closest partners of Hamas have the understanding that the Palestinian group will provide a way for other parties to control Gaza.

Last week, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said Hamas was willing to give up control of Gaza, but had not yet acknowledged the need for gunfire.

Fidan's comments came after he hosted a closed meeting of senior officials from the UAE, Indonesia, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to discuss how to advance the implementation of the agreed Gaza ceasefire agreement more than three weeks ago.

Officials from the same countries were among those meeting US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September to perfect the framework of the deal.

Egypt was not represented at Monday's meeting in Istanbul, but Turkey had carried out "the necessary coordination" with Cairo before negotiations, a Turkish official said.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Fidan separately met with members of the political bureau Hamas in Istanbul on Saturday to discuss the status of a ceasefire in Gaza and the need for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said.

Although the details of Gaza's governance still have to be formulated, "the principle we support is that Palestine must be managed by the Palestinian people and its security must be guaranteed by the Palestinian people," said Foreign Minister Fidan.

"In resolving Palestinian problems, any steps taken today, despite solving current problems, should not create a structural foundation for any future problems," said Foreign Minister Fidan.

"We are very careful in this regard," he said.