Turkey criticises US terror designation for Hamas chief

GAZA CITY, Feb 02 (AFP): Turkey on Friday denounced the US decision to put the head of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on its terror blacklist, saying it hoped the move would not have a negative impact on Ankara's humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The US State Department on Wednesday also slapped sanctions on Ismail Haniya, who was named head of Hamas in May 2017.

Hamas has been on the US terror blacklist since 1997 but Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party has friendly ties with the movement.

"We are concerned that this decision of the US administration, which disregards the realities on the ground, could undermine the Middle East peace process, including the efforts for intra-Palestinian peace and reconciliation," Hami Aksoy, the Turkish foreign ministry spokesman, said in a statement.

The moves comes as Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, has reached a fragile reconciliation deal with Fatah, the movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We also hope that the decision will not have a negative impact on our country's humanitarian assistance and economic development activities towards Gaza."

Aksoy said the move overlooked the fact that Hamas is "an important reality of Palestinian political life".

Haniya is now on the US Treasury sanctions blacklist, which freezes any US-based assets he may have and bans any US person or company from doing business with him.

Haniya replaced Khaled Meshaal, who now lives in Doha in exile.

Washington's decision comes as ties between the Americans and Palestinians have worsened since US Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fervent supporter of Palestinians, sought to lead Islamic condemnation of Trump's Jerusalem plan late last year. At one point, he called a summit of Muslim nations in Istanbul in response to the move.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces struck a Hamas position in Gaza early Friday after a rocket was fired from the Palestinian enclave.

"An aircraft targeted a Hamas observation post in the Gaza Strip," an army statement said.

The raid hit near Beit Hanoun in the north of the territory. There were no reports of any casualties, although a few nearby homes were damaged.