Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, held talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan shortly after arriving in Turkey Sunday.
The talks were due to focus on the power-sharing agreement between Hamas and the rival Fatah party, whose leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is the internationally recognized head of the Palestinian Authority, Turkish media reported.
Haniyeh, who was appointed prime minister in 2006 after Hamas won the general elections, is making his first international tour since Hamas militia seized control of the Gaza Strip from pro-Fatah forces in June 2007.
Abbas then dismissed him and appointed a Fatah official as prime minister in a controversial move that has not been confirmed by the Palestinian legislative council.
Turkish media reported that Haniyeh will pay a call on Bulent Yildirim, the head of the Turkish Islamic charity, IHH, which sponsored a convoy of ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid to Gaza in May 2010. Israeli commandos seized the convoy in an operation in which eight Turks and one Turkish-American died aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Haniyeh is also expected to visit relatives of those killed in the attack. The Mavi Marmara incident led to a sharp decline in relations between Turkey and Israel. Turkey recalled its ambassador, expelled Israel's ambassador, and ceased military manoeuvres with Israel because Israel refused to apologize for the deaths and pay compensation.
The event also boosted Turkey's profile in the Middle East as many Arabs admired the tough stand that Prime Minister Erdogan took against Israel.
Turkey, which recognizes Palestine as an independent state, has been trying to mediate between Hamas and Fatah. Last year the two factions agreed to share power pending elections, but their agreement has not been implemented in full because of continued bickering.
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