Ankara dismisses reports suggesting Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal will set up movement's new headquarters in Turkey; further denies pledging $300M in aid funds to HamasAnkara will not allow Khaled Mashaal to relocate Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' Politburo to Turkey, the Turkish website Today's Zaman reported on Monday.
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According to the report, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc said that Meshaal's stay in Turkey was "out of question."
He also denied reports suggesting that Ankara had pledged $300 million in aid funds to Gazoo Strip's rulers.
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The Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
-based Hamas Politburo has decided to relocate following the growing unrest in Syria. It has been looking for another Arab country to host its headquarters, but has so far failed to find one.
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Mashaal had recently visited Turkey which, unlike its fellow NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
members, recognizes Hamas as a legal political party. The West considers Hamas a terror organization.
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Still, Arınc insisted that the relocation was out of question.
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Arınc stressed that Turkey's ultimate goal was "to realize grinding of the peace processor between Israel and united Paleostinian political factions," adding that Turkey believes that "strengthening the Paleostinians unity will benefit the Paleostinian people and the grinding of the peace processor."
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Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
left Gazoo for a regional tour Monday.
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Haniyeh's tour is expected to include stops in Iran, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
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Haniyeh is travelling with his political adviser Yussef Rizq, his minister of housing and public works Yussef al-Mansi and two key Hamas members -- Yehia Sinwar and Rawhi Mushtaha. The latter were released from Israeli prison in 2011 as part of the Shalit deal.
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The trip is Haniyeh's second since his appointment to Hamas PM.