A group of 39 United States congressmen have penned a letter to the country’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken seeking to clarify, among other things, whether Hamas is operating in northern Cyprus.
The congressmen said they were “alarmed by recent reports that senior members of Hamas’ leadership have relocated to Turkey with the intent of establishing a headquarters there”, after the Qatari government had asked Hamas to leave their country.
“We have serious concerns about the security implications of a Nato member hosting, and potentially aiding Hamas, a US and European Union-designated foreign terrorist organisation,” they said.
“Throughout the tenure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s relationship with Hamas has long been an issue of concern. Turkey has maintained relations with Hamas and openly expressed support for its mission and movement.”
They added that the country has “continued its unreserved public support” for Hamas as the conflict in the Middle East has continued and escalated since last October, and that the “rhetoric from top Turkish officials, including President Erdogan, has intensified over the last year”.
At the end of their letter, they issued five questions to Blinken, firstly asking whether the reports that Hamas’ leadership had relocated to Turkey are accurate, and then asking, “what is the nature and extent of the Turkish government’s relationship with Hamas?”
Their third question involved Cyprus, with the congressmen asking whether the US’ office of the director of national intelligence has “any information to suggest that Hamas planned terrorist attacks or is currently operating from Turkish soil or territory controlled by Turkey”.
“This includes the Turkish occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus and Turkish occupied Syria,” they added.
Their remaining questions related to actions which will be “contemplated by the US or Nato allies to address the possibility of a Nato country harbouring a designated terrorist organisation”, and whether the US will seek the extradition of Hamas officials from Turkey in the event that they are in the country.
The letter’s signatories included Greek American Republicans Gus Bilirakis and Nicole Malliotakis, from Florida and New York respectively, and Greek American Democrat Chris Pappas of New Hampshire
Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who co-chaired Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and was chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee between 2011 and 2016, also signed the petition, as did New Jersey Democrat Rob Menendez.
Menendez is the son of disgraced former Senator Bob Menendez, who resigned from his seat in July after being convicted of a series of charges of corruption and bribery. He will be sentenced next year.
Menendez had enjoyed close relations with the Greek Cypriot community and was awarded both the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III, the highest honour in Cyprus, and honorary citizenship of Paphos.
Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos told the Cyprus Mail in July he planned to strip Menendez of his citizenship, but a government source said at the same time that they “did not know what we will do” about the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III, as “we do not have a process for stripping people of these honours”.
Menendez had helped steer billions of dollars in American aid to Egypt, with prosecutor Damian Williams describing Menendez’s actions as “politics for profit”. Menendez had received gold bars in exchange for the help he had given.
“His years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end,” he added.
He was given the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III by Nicos Anastasiades in 2021, with Anastasiades saying he was “particularly pleased” to do so.
Anastasiades praised Menendez’s “key role” in advancing relations between Cyprus, Greece and the US, as well as other neighbouring countries.
