Turkey has granted citizenship to several senior operatives of a Hamas terrorist cell, The Telegraph reports.
According to a senior source in the region, seven of the twelve operatives have received passports as well as citizenship, and the other five are in the process of receiving them.
The source added that: "These are not foot soldiers but the most senior Hamas operatives outside of Gaza. [They] are actively raising funds and directing operatives to carry out attacks in the present day. The Turkish government gave in to pressure by Hamas to grant citizenship to its operatives, thereby allowing them to travel more freely, endangering other countries that have listed Hamas as a terror group."
Hamas has denied the allegations, and a Turkish government spokesman declined to comment on the matter, merely noting that the claims were "baseless."