Political analysts are concerned about the possible repercussions of Turkey’s inflexible stance in favor of Hamas. Is Erdogan in a difficult position after the decision of the International Criminal Court? Despite its continued extreme rhetoric against Israel, and by extension against the US and the West for the lack of a substantial solution for the Palestinian issue, Ankara has not managed to play an essential role in the peace process which is mainly between Arab states and the USA. There has long been concern about the possible consequences of Ankara’s obvious choice in favor of Hamas, which President Erdogan insists on seeing as a resistance movement rather than a terrorist organization, as he did recently with the visit of the Greek Prime Minister in Ankara.

However, the fluidity of the situation around Gaza suddenly brought to the fore the International Criminal Court and the stateless prosecutor Karim Khan, who in a very stern tone announced his proposal – after overwhelming evidence gathered by his team – to issue an arrest warrant for heaps of criminal actions both for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Galland, as well as for Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar and the head of Hamas’s political office Ismail Haniya.

Concern about possible repercussions

Political analysts in Turkey are concerned about the possible repercussions of Turkey’s inflexible stance in favor of Hamas. They believe that Karim Khan’s statements on an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniya will further deepen the rift between Turkey and the international and regional actors who will determine the fate of Palestine and lead Turkey to be excluded from the negotiation.

Turkey’s stance on Hamas differs not only from that of the US and other European countries, but also from that of most Middle Eastern countries that consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Turkey’s role of becoming almost a “spokesman” for the political wing of Hamas is now receiving another serious blow with the request to issue an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniya, who recently came to Turkey and was welcomed with a hug by the president Erdogan.

What will happen if Haniya is arrested?

If the International Criminal Court decides to arrest Haniya, Turkey will find itself in an even more difficult position diplomatically, because Haniya has no officially recognized office and does not have immunity. If he comes to Turkey, some countries may demand his extradition, citing the extradition agreement between them and Turkey.

What might complicate things is that Haniya is traveling with a red Turkish passport. Regarding Turkey’s relations with the ICC, Turkey’s official response is as follows: “Although Turkey is not a member state of the Rome Statute, the activities of the ICC are closely monitored and the annual meetings of the Assembly of Member States held in The Hague or New York are monitored by our officials”.