Secret Turkey visit of Israeli intel chief raises eyebrows as Turkey and Qatar deny Hamas leaders moved there permanently

The chief of Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, secretly traveled to Turkey over the past weekend, Israeli media reported.

Bar met with his counterpart, Ibrahim Kalin, to discuss Turkey's role in efforts to restart negotiations on a ceasefire and a hostage deal with Hamas

Notably, the visit came amid reports that Hamas’ political leadership recently relocated from Qatar to Turkey.

According to Walla, a senior Israeli official said Turkey could help put pressure on Hamas, but the main mediator will now be Egypt, after Qatar announced it had stopped mediation efforts.

Meanwhile, a Turkish official denied reports that Hamas’ leadership had permanently moved to Turkey, and claimed they were only visiting temporarily, which was later confirmed by Doha.

“The members of the political wing of Hamas visit Turkey from time to time. Claims according to which Hamas moved its offices to Turkey do not reflect reality,” Ynet News cited a Qatari diplomat.

Hamas also said the reports were “rumors the (Israeli) occupation is trying to publish from time to time.”

Following reports that Turkey, a NATO member and close ally of the U.S., had allowed the leadership of a terror group to take up residence in the country, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington would make it clear that Turkey shouldn’t host Hamas.

“We don't believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organization should be living comfortably anywhere, and that certainly includes in ... a major city of one of our key allies and partners,” Miller told reporters.

He added that some Hamas leaders are under U.S. indictment and should be turned over for prosecution.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu convened a discussion about the Israeli efforts to rescue the hostages still being held by Hamas, with the participation of senior ministers and security chiefs.

During the meeting, Bar also gave a briefing about his meeting in Turkey, while the security chiefs reportedly offered a “grim assessment” of the situation and argued for more Israeli concessions to reach a deal.

In recent weeks, the Turkish government has doubled down on its hostility toward Israel several times.

Last Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey would cut all remaining ties with the State of Israel, these mainly being commercial ones.

On Saturday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office announced he had decided to cancel his trip to the climate conference in Azerbaijan, after Turkey refused to allow the "Wing of Zion," the official aircraft of the State of Israel, to cross Turkish airspace.