Turkey's Erdogan says Hamas must be involved in post-war solution for Gaza

President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 High Level Segment meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 1, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly doubled down on his position that Hamas is not a terror group and insisted they must be involved in Gaza's future after the war.

“I stand by my position. No matter what anybody says, I cannot accept Hamas as a terror group,” Erdogan told Turkish media on Saturday, according to the Times of Israel.

Those comments came in response to a question about possible U.S. sanctions on Turkey for supporting and funding Hamas, the outlet reported. 

The United States recognizes Hamas as a terrorist organization. On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated communities and a music festival in southern Israel, brutally raping, torturing and murdering as many as 1,200 Israelis that day and taking 240 hostages back to Gaza. The attack, labeled "Black Shabbat" in Israel, started the ongoing war in Gaza.

Erdogan has made several anti-Israel statements since the start of the war, accusing the Jewish state of war crimes in Gaza and calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "butcher." 

Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas and its governing capability in Gaza, but Erdogan insisted Saturday that Hamas must be a part of any post-war reality for the Palestinian territory. 

The "exclusion and destruction of Hamas is not an option," Erdogan said