By assassinating Haniyeh, Israel has also killed peace: Turkish foreign minister

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s foreign minister said Wednesday that by assassinating Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, Israel has also “killed peace.”

"I extend my condolences to his family, to the Palestinian nation, and to the Islamic world. And they should not forget that by killing him, they also killed peace," Hakan Fidan said in a live interview with local broadcasters.

Fidan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "taken America hostage.”

"Netanyahu is well aware of this. He has taken America hostage. If he enters a war in Lebanon, the US will have no choice but to go to war to support him," he added.

Asked about the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, Fidan called it an "extremely symbolic step" by Israel intended to send a message not only to Hamas but also to Iran, which supports Hamas militarily.

He also emphasized that Israel "will not stop stealing land," criticizing their belief that eliminating threats from Hamas and Hezbollah would lead to peace.

They think that if they get rid of Hamas and Hezbollah, their path will be clear, Fidan said.

“What they fail to understand is that it’s not Hamas or Hezbollah that produces resistance; it’s Israel’s own actions. If it’s not Hamas today, there will be another movement in Palestine tomorrow. This will continue. As long as Israel’s expansionism persists in the region, there will be opposition, a resistance here.”

He accused Israel of looking for an excuse to attack Hezbollah, condemning Israel's war culture, which he said disregards human values.

Fidan also stressed that Zionism is the name of Israel's project of expansion in the region by stealing others' land in order to establish its own state, expressing Türkiye’s opposition to it.

Palestinian president’s speech at Turkish Parliament

Speaking about the significance of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s upcoming address to the Turkish parliament, Fidan highlighted the Turkish parliament’s unique position.

The Turkish parliament does not host and allow everyone to speak under its roof; it brings to the agenda important guests and events of historical significance, Fidan said.

“Our supreme parliament broke new ground by inviting Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, the current president of Palestine, to give a speech to the General Assembly.”

Fidan further said that it is significant that the Palestinian issue is declared to the whole world from the roof of the Turkish parliament by the highest authority possible.

Recalling Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress in Washington, D.C. last week, he said: “I think it is of extraordinary symbolic importance for the representative of the State of Palestine to address both the Turkish nation and all humanity under the roof of the Turkish parliament.”

Abbas will visit Türkiye in August, Turkish officials confirmed Wednesday.

He will pay a visit to Türkiye on Aug. 14-15, the country’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said on X.

He will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 14 and will address the Turkish parliament the next day, Altun added.

Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus called for an extraordinary meeting of the parliament on Aug. 15 for Abbas's address.

Call for solution in Palestine

Fidan urged the international community to pressure Israel to remain within the 1967 borders, adding these lands were also actually the stolen lands of the Palestinians.

He said that Palestinians showed generosity by accepting the 1967 borders but noted that as long as Western countries do not understand the issue in this way and continue to frame it as "Israel's security," it will be difficult to resolve.

International law and the International Court of Justice define this as “occupation,” but the West reads the situation incorrectly and does not bear any cost, he said.

Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran early Wednesday. Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for the killing, but Tel Aviv has not yet confirmed or denied its involvement.

Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, was killed in an airstrike on a guest house.

Fidan also spoke over the phone with Iran’s interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri on Wednesday.

The two discussed developments following the assassination of Haniyeh and the situation in the region, according to a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli on X.