US demands Turkey not to give asylum to top Hamas officials

Following reports of possible Hamas leaders moving from Qatar to Turkey, the US State Department expressed hope that Türkiye would extradite senior members of the organization. There are charges against them in the US, and it is important that they are brought to American justice.

The State Department spokesman stressed that the leaders of terrorist organizations should not feel unpunished. “We will make it clear to Turkey that business as usual with Hamas is no longer possible,” Miller said. However, Hamas itself denied reports about the move of its political office to Turkey and called this information “rumors.”

Turkish officials also rejected claims that Hamas leaders were moving to their country. High-ranking representatives of the organization only periodically visit Turkey, and there is no reason to talk about their permanent presence there. Miller also commented on the allegations against UNRWA, saying that he does not consider the entire organization to be terrorist, but individual employees may be involved in supporting terrorism.