Hamas Hails Erdogan for Spat with "Israel"

Source: Al-Manar TV, 30-1-2009

The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas on Friday hailed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his spat with the Zionist entity over its assault on the Gaza Strip.

"Hamas pays tribute to the courageous stand of Turkey's prime minister who in Davos directly defended the victims of the criminal Zionist war against our children and women in Gaza," said spokesman Fawzi Barhum.

"We consider his departure from the room an expression of support for the victims of the Holocaust carried out by the Zionists," he said in a statement.

Erdogan stormed off the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday during a spat over the Gaza war, which claimed the lives of more than 1,300 Palestinians, a third of them children. He marched off complaining his comments on "Israel's" 22-day war on Gaza were cut short and criticized the audience for applauding "Israeli" President Shimon Peres's emotional defense of the conflict against Gaza.

Senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya also showered Erdogan with praise and compared him to Sultan Mehmed II who conquered Constantinople in 1453, bringing an end to the Byzantine Empire. "The Palestinian people, the resistance and Hamas salute you, Erdogan," Hayya told a rally in Gaza City, during his first public appearance since the end of "Israel's" offensive on Gaza.

"From Gaza the victorious, we stand at your side and alongside Turkey," he said. "You remind us of the glorious position of our Ottoman ancestors," he said citing Mehmed II.