1. Home
  2. Countries
  3. Turkey

Turkey

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 24-30, 2026)

IDF forces continued operations to locate terrorists and destroy weapons, infrastructure and assets within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip and eliminated terrorist operatives who violated the ceasefire and planned attacks; The Board of Peace's high commissioner, Nikolay Mladenov, said that the first stage of the United States' 20-point plan had largely been completed, adding that the disarmament of Hamas was the only way to move forward toward reconstruction and an Israeli military withdrawal. Hamas and other armed terrorist organizations criticized the Board of Peace's disarmament plan; The Hamas security forces continued attacking "collaborators" and members of Israeli-supported militias; Hamas continued to promote propaganda of humanitarian distress despite the entry of enormous quantities of goods into the Strip; Settler terrorism continued in Judea and Samaria, and reportedly one person was killed by settler gunfire near an illegal outpost; The representative of the Palestinian Authority in France submitted her credentials to President Macron as ambassador of the "State of Palestine." 
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 17-24, 2026)

The spokesperson for the Hamas military wing praised the Iranian missile attacks on Israel, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) tried to downplay the significance of reports about an Israeli attempt to target its senior figures in Tehran; Despite the deadlock in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the mediators continue to try to persuade Hamas to disarm. The movement still refuses complete disarmament and is waiting for the end of the war in Iran; IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to locate terrorists and destroy weapons and terrorist infrastructure and assets, and eliminated Hamas and PIJ terrorist commanders; The Rafah Crossing was reopened for the passage of Gazans. Despite the entry of humanitarian aid, Hamas continued to promote its "hunger" propaganda; Hamas continued to exploit the delay in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement to tighten civilian and "security" governance in areas under its control; According to reports, because of "regional developments" Hamas will postpone the election for head of its political bureau to the end of the year; The vehicular ramming incident in which an 18-year-old Israeli was killed near Homesh is being investigated as a terrorist attack. Four residents of Umm al-Fahm were detained on suspicion of planning to carry out shooting attacks; This past week attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria escalated.
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 10-17, 2026)

Hamas condemned the "American-Zionist aggression" against Iran and noted Iran's "right" to respond, but not against its neighbors. Hamas also reportedly sent a secret letter to Iran's leader for all fronts to be activated against Israel; IDF forces continued operations within the Yellow Line area in the Gaza Strip and eliminated Hamas terrorists who posed a threat, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre; Hamas is tightening its "security" governance in the areas under its control in Gaza with public appearances of armed police and operatives from the military wing; The Turkish IHH continues to increase its activity in the Gaza Strip; A Hamas delegation visited Cairo and held talks with Egyptian officials and with representatives of the Board of Peace regarding implementation of the ceasefire agreement; The United States imposed sanctions on four associations that helped fund Hamas' military wing under the guise of humanitarian activity. A suspect involved in a Hamas plot to attack Israeli and/or Jewish targets in Europe was arrested in Cyprus; Shots were fired at IDF forces in Samaria; there were no casualties. An Israeli civilian was stabbed and seriously wounded in Ramat Gan, suspected as a terrorist attack, and an Arab-Israeli was detained; The chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke to the Pope. Abbas said that once the war in Iran ended, an international peace conference should be convened to end the "Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and Arab territories in Lebanon and Syria."
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism – February 2026

During February 2026 the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was maintained, while extensive counterterrorism activity continued in Judea and Samaria. The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remained in effect, despite IDF attacks on Hezbollah terrorist targets. On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel attacked Iran; the organizations of the "resistance axis" did not attack Israel during the first day; The Gaza Strip: The ceasefire that went into effect on October 10, 2025 continued. IDF forces attacked suspicious individuals who crossed the Yellow Line and eliminated terrorist operatives in response to ceasefire violations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders and terrorists involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre; Israel, Judea and Samaria: There were no terrorist attacks. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria, eliminating or detaining terrorist operatives; Lebanon: The IDF continued attacking Hezbollah terrorist targets to prevent the organization from violating the ceasefire understandings of November 27, 2024 and to keep it from reconstructing its military capabilities and replenishing its arsenal. two Hamas terrorist operatives were eliminated in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp and two Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives were eliminated on the Lebanon-Syria border, and a senior figure in the al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya was detained; IDF forces continued to operate in southern Syria, and a weapons depot belonging to al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya was located; The Houthis have not attacked Israel or ships since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (February 17-24, 2026)

IDF forces continued activity within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to locate and destroy weapons and terrorist infrastructure. An IDF soldier was killed by friendly fire in the south of the Strip; It was reported that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza was dissatisfied with Hamas’ appointment of new police commanders who had ties to the military wing; According to Hamas sources, the movement was preparing to announce the new chairman of the political bureau, either Khaled Mashaal or Khalil al-Hayya, and the candidate selected would hold the position for one year only; The American-led Board of Peace held its first meeting, during which promises for economic assistance worth tens of billions of dollars and for assistance in reconstructing the Strip were reported. Indonesia is expected to send 8,000 soldiers to participate in the international stabilization force; The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza issued a notice recruiting police officers for the new order-keeping force and thousands of applications were reportedly received; The Palestinian Authority established a liaison office which would operate with the high commissioner for the Gaza Strip on behalf of the Board of Peace.
Read more...

Hamas Media as Reflected in Documents Brought Back from the Gaza Strip

Hamas' media system is an extensive network which integrates overt and covert, formal and informal communication channels and targets diverse audiences. It serves as a propaganda and incitement tool in Hamas' battle for hearts and minds; Hamas documents brought back by the IDF during the Gaza Strip War showed that Hamas exercises full control, administratively, financially and strategically over its affiliated media outlets in terms of content and messaging, although such bodies are represented as independent, allowing Hamas to maneuver communicationally, diplomatically and militarily; The documents revealed that Hamas' media activity was based on an orderly, multi-year master program divided into 25 projects, each with quantifiable objectives, content production quotas, timetables and resource allocations; An important element of the program was a propaganda campaign to sabotage Israel's resilience by disseminating fake news, funding targeted advertisements for audiences in Israel, operating satirical pages to mock Israeli leaders and symbols, sowing doubts to demoralize the Israeli public; Hamas invests considerable resources in shaping an English-language narrative tailored to the West to mobilize legitimacy for the "resistance"  and to defame and demonize the State of Israel; Internal audits reveal that Hamas' media outlets suffer from deficits, bad debts and poor asset management. The findings indicate absolute dependence on the transfer of funds from Hamas' coffers, including via Turkey; In ITIC assessment, the documents show that the affiliated media are at the core of Hamas' battle for hearts and minds, and make the information department particularly important in formulating media policy and managing all the media institutions operating in the service of Hamas, including those the organization does not define as officially affiliated with it.
Read more...

Previous years bulletins

2026202520242022202020192018201720162015201420132012

Turkey

Since the victory of the Islamic Party in Turkey in 2008 and the election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Turkish Prime Minister, Turkey has adopted an active and assertive regional foreign policy that reflects considerable self-confidence. Turkey’s policy seeks to strengthen Turkey’s relations with its neighbors, especially Iran, Iraq, and Syria, in order to give Turkey strategic depth and turn it into an influential regional power. This is to be accomplished by taking advantage of the regional upheaval perceived by the Turkish government as an opportunity to promote Turkey’s regional interests and influence.

As one of the instruments to promote its influence, Turkey makes use of NGOs. One of these organizations is the IHH, a radical Islamic organization that sees itself, among other things, as an aid to Turkish policy. This organization was an active participant in the organization of flotillas and convoys to the Gaza Strip, the most prominent of which was the Mavi Marmara flotilla.  

In light of this policy of the Turkish government headed by Erdoğan, relations between Israel and Turkey gradually changed. Turkey has increasingly begun to stand by the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel, particularly the Hamas movement. The Turkish government transfers funds and aid to Hamas, and Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan has repeatedly condemned Israel’s policy.

The height of the escalation in Israeli-Turkish relations followed the events of the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010. Nine Turkish nationals, members of the IHH, were killed in a violent attack that they mounted against the Israel Navy’s efforts to prevent them from entering the Gaza port. As a result, the level of diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey was lowered. After lengthy negotiations, the Mavi Marmara affair was resolved and in 2016, after a long break, Turkey and Israel renewed diplomatic relations.