A visit by the exiled political leader of Hamas to the Turkish capital has triggered a new diplomatic rift between U.S. allies Israel and Turkey, two years after the Turkish premier accused Israel of engaging in state terrorism against Palestinians.
Turkey on Friday rejected Israeli criticism of the visit of Khaled Meshal and said an Israeli spokesman's comparison of the Palestinian group to Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey was an "unfortunate statement."
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Israel and Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim state, have long had strong military ties and important trade links. But relations grew strained in 2004 when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement, accused Israel of state terrorism in an interview with Haaretz.
Haaretz