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Israel Wants Türkiye to Shut Down ‘Hamas’ Office

The Israeli charge d'affaires in Türkiye Irit Lillian is a candidate for the post of ambassador.
The Israeli charge d'affaires in Türkiye Irit Lillian is a candidate for the post of ambassador.
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Israel Wants Türkiye to Shut Down ‘Hamas’ Office

The Israeli charge d'affaires in Türkiye Irit Lillian is a candidate for the post of ambassador.
The Israeli charge d'affaires in Türkiye Irit Lillian is a candidate for the post of ambassador.

The Israeli charge d'affaires in Türkiye said on Friday the re-appointment of an ambassador to Ankara could happen within weeks, while repeating Israel's expectation that the Hamas office in Istanbul be closed down.

Lillian said the process of re-appointing an ambassador to Türkiye was only a matter of "when and not if."

Lillian reiterated the challenges to the ties, saying that the biggest obstacle to the "positive tendency seen throughout the year" was the existence of a Hamas office in Istanbul.

"There are plenty of challenges, but from our point of view, one of the main obstacles is the Hamas office in Istanbul," she said.

"Hamas is a terrorist organization, and it is no secret that Israel expects Türkiye to close this office and send the activists there away from here," Lillian added.

"It's only because of elections in Israel that things might be delayed on the Israeli side," Lillian said.

Lillian maintained close ties with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office, and especially with his senior advisor İbrahim Kalın, her Turkish counterpart responsible for the reconciliation process, reported Israel's Ynetnews.

Last week, Türkiye and Israel announced that they would reappoint ambassadors, four years after they summoned each other’s envoy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a phone call earlier this month, expressing their satisfaction with the progress in ties and congratulating each other on the decision to appoint ambassadors.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office and the Foreign Ministry don't anticipate any legal obstacles to the appointment of Lillian as ambassador to Türkiye.

Still, the appointment requires legal consultations.

According to reports, Erdogan is also interested in appointing an ambassador before Israel's elections in November. This is partly because of his concern that if Benjamin Netanyahu returns to office, the normalization process could stall.

Israel is concerned that Erdogan could decide to appoint Ufuk Ulutas, who is the head of the Center for Strategic Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is perceived as anti-Israel.

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Arab World

Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)

Egypt is continuing to strengthen its cooperation with African nations to confront the pressing challenges of water and food security.

“Water issues are a shared challenge that grows more severe due to climate change and resource scarcity, especially given Egypt’s near-total dependence on Nile water,” Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam said, according to an official statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister during a celebration at the Djibouti Embassy in Cairo marking Djibouti’s 48th independence anniversary, Sewilam emphasized that cross-border cooperation, rooted in principles of international law, is the optimal path to ensure sustainable water resources.

Egypt frequently raises the issue of water security, particularly amid the ongoing crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia has built on the main tributary of the Nile since 2011 to generate electricity. Egypt and Sudan fear it will impact their water shares.

Ambassador Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, stressed that water security is closely linked to river management and dam operations. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt consistently underscores the importance of respecting international laws and agreements on managing water resources and criticized Ethiopia’s unilateral actions to impose a de facto situation regarding the dam.

Halima added that achieving water security requires cooperation among states in managing water resources and constructing dams, noting that Egypt has valuable experience African nations can benefit from.

Egypt faces a water deficit estimated at 30 billion cubic meters annually. Its share of Nile water amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters per year, while consumption exceeds 85 billion cubic meters. The shortfall is covered by groundwater extraction, seawater desalination projects, and recycling agricultural drainage water, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

On Friday, Sewilam highlighted the longstanding ties between Egypt and Djibouti as an example of cooperation amid complex regional and global challenges requiring greater unity and shared vision. He noted that the regional and international context demands an understanding of the magnitude of challenges, ranging from security and peace to sustainable development and socio-economic stability, especially in the Arab and African regions.

Egypt is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate in fields such as integrated water resources management, desalination technologies, groundwater recharge, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and joint research.

In parallel, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to working with African countries to develop more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural value chains. Speaking during FAO meetings in Rome, he said that strengthening these chains is central to food security, economic growth, and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Farouk also discussed promoting Egyptian investment in Africa to boost agricultural development and food security across the continent.