Hamas PM visits Turkish parliament

Ismail Haneya, prime minister of the deposed Hamas government that ruled the Gaza Strip, paid a visit to the Turkish parliament in Ankara on Tuesday and met some Turkish political party leaders and lawmakers. Haneya showed up at a gathering of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) in the parliament on Tuesday when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was giving his weekly address to fellow deputies. Erdogan praised in his speech the reconciliation between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, while Haneya was warmly received by the lawmakers. Haneya also met with leaders of Turkey's opposition parties, including the Republican People's Party (CHP), the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and the Voice of the Public Party (HAS). In his meeting with the CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Haneya said Hamas was determined to implement the reconciliation deal signed with Fatah, the Turkish party's deputy chairman Faruk Logolu told reporters on Tuesday. As part of his first trip abroad since Hamas took control of Gaza by force in 2007, Haneya arrived in Turkey on Sunday after visiting Egypt and Sudan, aiming to seek contribution to rebuild the Gaza City. Haneya has met with the Turkish prime minister in the country's largest city of Istanbul. On Monday he spoke at a press conference on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, which was raided by Israeli troops in May 2010 when trying to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. He has also met with 11 Palestinian prisoners who were released by Israel under a prisoner swap deal and arrived in Turkey. Haneya emphasized his gratitude to Turkey for its support to the Palestinian struggle for sovereignty. He also expressed the hope that Turkey's "brotherly support" and its stance over Gaza would remain determined during an interview with Turkey's semi- official Anatolia news agency on Monday. "Turkey is a state that has been with the Palestinian people and Gaza throughout the blockade, as shown by support from officials, the people and Turkish martyrs," he said. Haneya returned to Istanbul late Tuesday and will fly on to Tunisia on Wednesday. Turkey is a strong supporter of the international recognition of the Palestinian state and the removal of the Israeli blockade on Gaza. The Turkish government has insisted that peace can not be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians if Hamas is excluded from the peace process. Turkey has also sought to mediate the reconciliation between the rival Fatah and Hamas. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal visited Ankara in 2006, which drew criticism from the West and Turkey's once close ally Israel.