The head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Turkey at the head of a delegation of the movement's leaders, on the second leg of his foreign tour, after his visit to Egypt.
A Hamas source said Haniyeh planned to visit a number of countries, including Malaysia, Russia, Qatar, Lebanon, Mauritania and Kuwait.
Haniyeh is the first international tour abroad since he took over the presidency of the political bureau of Hamas.
The delegation includes leaders of the movement, Saleh Al-Arouri, Deputy Ismail Haniyeh, the movement's leader abroad Maher Salah, and members of the Political Bureau Musa Abu Marzouk, Husam Badran, Nizar Awadallah and Khalil Al-Hayya.
Meetings in Egypt
For its part, the movement said in a statement that the visit to Turkey came after Haniyeh, headed by a delegation from the movement’s leadership, held a series of meetings with officials in the Egyptian intelligence service, headed by Minister Abbas Kamel.
The talks between the two sides dealt with understandings with the Israeli occupation, as Hamas stressed the need for Israel to implement its obligations to ease the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Hamas warned of the repercussions of Israel's slowdown in implementing its obligations related to the armistice in Gaza.
On the internal Palestinian situation, Hamas assured the Egyptian side of its keenness to hold legislative and presidential elections in order to achieve elections for the National Assembly (the highest legislative body).
She added that we are still waiting for President Mahmoud Abbas to issue the presidential decree to hold these elections, and to call for a leadership meeting for dialogue to agree on its arrangements.
It is noteworthy that Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar have been leading consultations for several months, to reach a truce between the Palestinian factions in Gaza and Israel based on easing the blockade imposed on the Strip in exchange for stopping the protests organized by the Palestinians near the border with Israel.