Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet Turkiye’s Erdogan

ANKARA (AFP): Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas is set to meet with Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in Ankara, a day after a visit to Moscow.

The visit comes at a tense time during the 10-month Israel-Hamas war, with faltering efforts for a ceasefire and Israel braced for threatened attacks from Iran and its proxies following killings of senior Hamas officials in Iran and Lebanon.

Abbas is due to meet with Erdogan at 1530 GMT at the presidential palace, according to the Turkish leader’s itinerary.

Erdogan has been a fierce critic of Israel’s conduct in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, dubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza.”

He also criticized the Western world for failure to pressure Israel to stop the war.

While Hamas is viewed by the United States, the European Union and Israel as a terrorist organization, Erdogan has described it as “a liberation movement.”

In July, Erdogan chastised Abbas for not responding to his invitation to visit Turkiye.

Abbas added a trip to Ankara after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.

He will address the Turkish parliament in a special session dedicated to the Palestinian issue on Thursday.

Abbas, who heads the Fatah Palestinian movement, a rival to Hamas, had already visited Turkiye at Erdogan’s invitation in early March.