Obama’s visit was to reassure Israel

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has responded to US President Barack Obama’s whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, highlighting a landmark resumption in relations between Israel and Turkey. Speaking exclusively to Arabstoday, Haniyeh said he was “not surprised” by remarks made by Obama during his regional visit, citing a “powerful strategic alliance” between the United States and Israel. “The aim of Obama’s visit was to reassure Israel in light of recent changes in the Middle East,” the Hamas leader claimed, “entrenching the occupation and legalising its settlements.” Haniyeh has meanwhile revealed that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan pledged to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip “completely,” promising to visit the Palestinian territory in the near future. Erdogan called Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Meshaal on Saturday, assuring him of Turkey’s commitment to lifting Israel’s economic blockade. Renewing denials made by other members of the Islamist movement, Gaza’s prime minister denied his organisation’s involvement in the deaths of 16 Egyptian soldiers near the border with the Gaza Strip last September. “We have said repeatedly we don’t interfere in Egyptian affairs, nor that of any other Arab country,” Haniyeh claimed.