Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday afternoon for a two-day visit, Ramallah’s official Wafa agency reported.
Abbas was met at the airport by Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and the P.A.'s envoy to Ankara, Nasri Abu Jaish, according to the report.
The P.A. chief is scheduled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the visit, in what Wafa described as part of “regular political consultations” between the two leaders.
The talks are expected to address developments in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as well as ties between the Palestinian Authority and Ankara, Wafa stated.
Wafa said the P.A. delegation includes PLO Executive Committee member Ziad Abu Amr; Fatah Central Committee member Maj. Gen. Majed Faraj, who also heads Ramallah’s General Intelligence Service; and Abbas advisers Majdi al-Khaldi and Mahmoud al-Habbash.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned Abbas’s visit, describing the P.A. leader as “an enemy at the head of a terror authority that encourages and funds terror against the State of Israel.”
Smotrich called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent Abbas from returning to Israel and Judea and Samaria, adding that the Palestinian Authority “must be dismantled.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused Erdoğan of military aggression “that knows no borders,” saying Ankara occupies roughly 36% of Cyprus, 5% of Syria and 2,000 square kilometers of Iraq, with thousands of Turkish troops stationed across the three countries.
The ministry made the comparison amid Turkish criticism of Israel, writing on X, “Turkey has the audacity to criticize Israel. But what are the facts on the ground?”
Israel, by contrast, “temporarily controls merely 0.1% of Syria,” the ministry said, describing it as “a buffer zone to protect its citizens from proven security threats.”
