'Turkey has close ties with Hamas'

Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, confirmed on Saturday that Hamas has close ties with both Turkey and Iran.

In an interview with a Turkish news agency, as quoted by the Hamas newspaper Palestine, Abu Zuhri said that the strong relations with the Turkish government were based on the support of the Turkish leadership for Palestinian rights. With Iran, he said, the relationship was strengthened by Iran's support for the Palestinian struggle.