Haniyeh meets Turkish leaders

Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh attended a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) gathering in Ankara yesterday, as part of a series of meetings with Turkish officials and party leaders during his first visit to Turkey. Haniyeh was also welcomed by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and National Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli at private meetings in Ankara to discuss the situation in Gaza. After the meeting yesterday, CHP deputy chairman Faruk Logoglu told reporters that Haniyeh thanked Turkey and CHP for their support, adding CHP stands in solidarity with Palestinian people and supports the Palestinian cause. Haniyeh has invited Kilicdaroglu to Gaza in the meeting, Logoglu said. Haniyeh is on a tour of the Muslim world, his first trip outside the blockaded territory since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007.