DOHA: Turkey and Qatar are intensifying efforts to preserve the fragile Gaza ceasefire, with their leaders meeting in Doha Wednesday as diplomatic and intelligence chiefs coordinated to prevent renewed fighting, officials and sources said.
In a sign of deepening engagement, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Hamas officials in Doha late Tuesday, a day before top-level talks between Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
All meetings were behind closed doors, with both sides cautious to avoid jeopardising what diplomats say is a highly sensitive phase in the ceasefire.
Asked whether the talks addressed Hamas’s political future or the proposed Gaza task force, a Turkish official said no concrete decisions had been made.
“These issues will depend on how Israel and the United States position themselves during the process,” the official told AFP.
Turkey’s foreign ministry released a picture of Kalin and Fidan meeting the Hamas delegation led by Mohammed Darwish, who affirmed in a statement the movement’s commitment “to a complete ceasefire despite repeated enemy violations”.
“Efforts by Turkey and Qatar will be crucial to maintaining the ceasefire and shaping Gaza’s future,” Palestinian analyst Ahmad al-Heela told AFP, citing their ties to both the US and Hamas.
“However, Qatar and Turkey face the challenge of persuading the US administration that Palestinians must have a voice in Gaza’s future — a step toward a two-state solution,” he added.
During their talks, Erdogan told Qatar’s emir the Gaza ceasefire “has provided relief to Palestinians” but said the two-state solution was the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, his office said.
Turkey has taken an active role in talks to secure a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and voiced strong support for US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, in what one expert said would balance Washington’s pro-Israel stance.
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