The Mayor of Istanbul, Erdogan’s rival, called Hamas a terrorist organization
Ekrem Imamoglu, the Mayor of Istanbul and rival of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called Hamas a terrorist group during an interview and said Turkey deeply regrets the October 7 massacre.
Mr. Imamoglu told CNN that Hamas carried out an attack in Israel that we deeply regret. Any organized structure that engages in terrorist activities and kills people collectively is considered a terrorist organization by us.
The Mayor of Istanbul added, unfortunately, the same thing is happening to innocent Palestinians in Israel today. I want the brutal oppression of Palestinians to stop immediately.
The statements of this Turkish city official against Hamas come at a time when the country’s government, led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, openly supports this militant organization and, by condemning Israel for attacking the Gaza Strip, has called for an immediate ceasefire.
