It is unacceptable for a NATO country to maintain ties with a terrorist organization, according to the messages sent to NATO.
According to senior political sources in Jerusalem, Hamas runs the political and military headquarters from Istanbul from Damascus following the fighting in Syria.
One person working from this office is arch-terrorist Salah al-Arouri. Israel listed a long series of attacks for which Arouri is responsible, including an attempt to stage a coup against the Palestinian Authority that was foiled in August with the arrest of 93 Hamas members in the West Bank.
Arouri is also suspected of being behind a string of terror attacks in Israel, including the kidnapping and murder of three teenage boys.
An Israeli official said yesterday that there is no doubt that the activity in Hamas' headquarters in Turkey takes place with the approval and supervision of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He openly supports the the Muslim Brotherhood and was responsible for the Mavi Marmara incident.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon recently delivered a similar message during his visit to the United States, in a conversation with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. "Turkey is playing a cynical game," said Yaalon to Hagel. "Hamas is supported by Turkey and Qatar, and Turkey is a NATO member. We cannot have a terrorist organization with two headquarters: one in Gaza and another in Istanbul."
An article by Jonathan Schanzer in Foreign Policy last year says that under US law, Turkey may be considered a state sponsor of terrorism for hosting Arouri, who was already known then to be the leader of Hamas terrorism in the West Bank.
"If Arouri is behind the funding, recruiting, or planning of any of these Hamas operations in the West Bank, it will have grave consequences for Turkey, "Schanzer writes. "To the letter of the law, Turkey could meet criteria as a state sponsor of terrorism. Strange friends for a nation that views itself part of the Western alliance."