MIDEAST: Turkey Not Presenting Themselves As Mediators In Israel-Hamas Talks

Barak Ravid at Axios posts on X: "An Israeli official with direct knowledge of the Shin Bet director talks in Turkey said the Turkish intelligence chief didn't present a proposal for a ceasefire and didn't propose direct Turkish mediation between Israel and Hamas over a hostage deal." There had been international speculation that following Qatar's suspension of its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas in seeking a ceasefire deal in Gaza, that Turkey could take up the role. Reports emerged in Israeli media claiming that Hamas' political wing had moved its base of operations from Doha to the Turkish capital, Ankara. 

• On 18 Nov, US State Dep't spox Matthew Millar said "We don’t believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organisation should be living comfortably anywhere," Miller said, adding that this especially applies in the Turkish capital — a "major city of one of our key allies and partners". The Turkish Foreign Ministry told Euronews “members of the Hamas Political Bureau visit Turkey from time to time" but that "the claims that the Hamas Political Bureau has moved to Turkey do not reflect the truth.” "As a ministry, no meeting took place in our area of responsibility".
• The prospect of Turkey becoming a key mediator between Israel and Hamas is also reduced due to the poor relations between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and PM Benjamin Netanyahu. While Qatar and Egypt proved acceptable intermediaries for both Israel and Hamas, the Israeli gov't may see the Erdogan administration as an unreliable actor.