Speaking yesterday at the 14th annual Conference of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon blasted Turkey’s role in supporting Hamas and the world’s refusal to take any action against Turkey.
“The command center of Hamas’s overseas operations sits in Istanbul. Saleh al-Arouri is the man sitting there,” he said, referring to the senior official who is based in the Turkish capital and enjoys the support of local officials.
“Where is the world on this matter?” he said. “When speaking about the war on terror, [you must] start by whether you are willing to accept such phenomena — such countries who support terrorism and terror activity without hiding it.”
Ya’alon echoed the sentiments of former Israeli President Shimon Peres who called for “tough economic sanctions against Qatar and Turkey” for their support of terror at the conference yesterday.
In his remarks, Ya’alon said that Israel needs “international cooperation” to fight terrorism, an effort to which it is “ready to contribute.” Israel is reported to be sharing intelligence on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) with the United States and Western nations.
In Where the Shadiest Players Find a Home, published in the September 2014 issue of The Tower Magazine, Jonathan Schanzer explained some of al-Arouri’s operations:
Arouri is also believed to be in charge of Hamas’ operations in the West Bank. In January, a senior Israeli military official confirmed this when he told Israel Hayom that Hamas’ recent West Bank operations are “directed from Gaza via Turkey.” More recently, in August, the Israelis announced that Arouri was at the center of a plot to bring down the Palestinian Authority government of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. Arouri recruited the leader of the operation, according to reports.
Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, Arouri is held in high regard in Turkey. In March 2012, for example, he was part of a Hamas delegation that took part in talks with Turkish officials, including then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The following October, Arouri joined Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal for a high-level meeting with Erdoğan in Ankara.
[Photo: Sebastian Zwez / WikiCommons ]