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Erdoğan’s Sanctuary: Why NATO’s ‘Ally’ Is the Quartermaster for Hamas’ Next War
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan is welcomed by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 22, 2025. Photo: Murat Kula/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
The intelligence bombshell dropped this week by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency confirms what strategic analysts have long feared: Turkey, a nominal NATO ally and a pivotal European partner, is actively serving as the operational and financial command center for the Iran-Hamas terror axis.
This revelation is not about a few misguided transactions; it exposes a sophisticated, Iran-directed cash network operating within central Turkey, utilizing the country’s financial infrastructure to move hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas. This massive illicit funding flow is designed not merely to sustain the terror group, but to systematically rebuild its capabilities outside the Gaza Strip, ensuring its ability to launch future attacks against Israel and destabilize the entire region.
The intelligence is forensic and undeniable. Israeli agencies have identified key Gazan operatives, including Tamer Hassan, a senior official in Hamas’ finance office in Turkey, and currency exchangers Khalil Farwana and Farid Abu Dair, who are central to this Iranian-directed operation.
Turkey is providing the sanctuary — the physical space, the financial rails, and the political protection — that enables Hamas to bypass global sanctions and regenerate its forces. As one expert noted, the very presence of these Turkish-based operatives demonstrates how Hamas has successfully diversified its financial footprint precisely to evade the very border controls and sanctions the West is supposed to enforce.
The most immediate and self-defeating policy failure exposed by these findings lies in the ongoing US debate over post-war Gaza. How can the West entrust the post-war security of Gaza — a mission predicated on dismantling Hamas — to a nation that is providing the funding infrastructure for Hamas’ reconstitution right now? Inviting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s military into Gaza is akin to asking the arsonist to lead the fire brigade.
Erdoğan’s motivation for this dangerous double game is rooted in domestic political survival and ideological positioning. He has relentlessly framed himself as the global champion of the Palestinian cause, a stance that solidifies his support among his conservative, Islamist-leaning base. This aggressive, public hostility toward Israel is vital to his political legitimacy at home.
Yet, as reports confirm, this public defiance is often paired with private pragmatism. Individuals within Erdoğan’s inner circle have reportedly asked Hamas leadership to “leave Turkey quietly” and even pushed the terror group to accept the Trump administration’s earlier Gaza proposals, despite provisions unfavorable to Hamas. This is the portrait of a leader who is prioritizing his own domestic political calculus over any commitment to the NATO alliance or genuine regional peace. He sustains a permissive sanctuary for terrorists while simultaneously maneuvering just enough to avoid the complete diplomatic breakdown that might jeopardize his economic lifeline.
Turkey’s role must be identified for what it is: a hostile sanctuary. A core NATO responsibility is collective security, yet Turkey is using its access to Western financial systems and its geographical position to actively facilitate the rebuilding of a designated terror organization directed by the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. The failure to shut down this financial conduit proves that Ankara is prioritizing the Tehran-Beirut-Gaza axis over its commitments to its Western allies.
The time for cautious diplomatic language is over. The US and Israel must treat Turkey not as a problematic ally requiring careful handling, but as the operational partner of a hostile terror network.
The intelligence is clear: Hamas cannot be defeated on the battlefield only to be rebuilt in the banking halls of Istanbul. The long war against Iran’s proxies is fundamentally a financial war. To secure Israel’s long-term future and stabilize the broader Middle East, the US must move immediately to impose comprehensive, crippling sanctions on the Turkish financial infrastructure that is enabling this terror funding. The only way to stop the cancer of Hamas is to surgically remove its life support, and the intelligence confirms that the critical, vulnerable breaking point is currently located inside a supposed ally. The security of the Mediterranean, and the long-term viability of the Abraham Accords, depends on holding Erdoğan accountable for his nation serving as the Quartermaster for Hamas’ next war.
Amine Ayoub, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx
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Israel to Reopen Jordan Border Crossing for Passage of Aid, Goods After Terror Attack
Israeli police officers stand next to their cars at the scene of a fatal shooting at the Allenby Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Sept. 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
Israel is set to reopen the Allenby Crossing with Jordan to the passage of goods and aid on Wednesday, an Israeli security official said on Tuesday.
The border crossing has been closed to aid and goods since September, when a driver bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza opened fire and killed two Israeli military personnel before being killed by security forces.
The security official said the crossing would have tightened screening for Jordanian drivers and truck cargo, and that a dedicated security force had been assigned to the crossing.
The Allenby Bridge is a key route for trade between Jordan and Israel and the only gateway for more than 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank to reach Jordan.
The crossing reopened to passenger traffic shortly after the attack, but had remained closed to aid trucks. The UN says the crossing is a major route for bringing food, tents, and other goods into Gaza.
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US Imposes Sanctions on Network It Accuses of Fueling War in Sudan
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on actors it accused of fueling the war in Sudan, taking aim at what it said was a transnational network that recruits former Colombian military personnel and trains soldiers, including children, to fight for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The US Treasury Department in a statement seen by Reuters said that it imposed sanctions on four individuals and four entities that were part of the network, which it said was largely comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.
The Treasury said that since at least 2024, hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have traveled to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF, which the US has accused of committing genocide.
The Colombians have provided the RSF with tactical and training expertise and served as infantry and artillerymen, drone pilots and instructors, among other roles, with some training children to fight for the paramilitary group, according to Treasury, which added that Colombian fighters have participated in battles across Sudan, including in the capital Khartoum and al-Fashir.
“The RSF has shown again and again that it is willing to target civilians — including infants and young children. Its brutality has deepened the conflict and destabilized the region, creating the conditions for terrorist groups to grow,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, John Hurley, said in the statement.
Among those targeted was Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, who the Treasury said was a dual Colombian-Italian national and a retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. It accused him of playing a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian military personnel to Sudan.
The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied.
“The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents,” Treasury said in the statement.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted in April 2023 out of a power struggle and has triggered famine, ethnic killings, and mass displacement. In November, US President Donald Trump said he would intervene to stop the conflict.
The United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia – known as the Quad – earlier in November proposed a plan for a three-month truce followed by peace talks. The RSF responded by saying it had accepted the plan, but soon after attacked army territory with a barrage of drone strikes.
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When Is a Wedding Too Extravagant?
A wedding ceremony, illustrative. Photo: Jason Hutchens via Wikimedia Commons.
It has been part of my life as a rabbi to attend weddings — more often than not, to “perform.” I reckon that I have attended approximately 100 weddings of various sizes, styles, numbers, and traditions. Some I have enjoyed, but I am finding it increasingly hard to feel comfortable about many of the religious weddings I have attended.
They are getting more and more protracted. People are forced to wait for hours. A wedding I once attended was so overcrowded by jostling relatives under the Chupah, that the father of the bride couldn’t get close enough to give his son in law a sip of the cup of wine.
One band plays for the reception, another for the Chupah, a third for Hasidic or Israeli dances, a fourth for ballroom dancing, and a fifth for a disco. One singer is for Ashkenazi cantorial style, one for Hasidic pop, one for Sephardi tunes, and another for Carlebach. As for food, a loaded reception is offered as people arrive, and sushi is a must. There are multiple servings and meals, and if there’s a Hasidic Mitzvah dance at the end, you’ll get a complete breakfast too.
It is fashionable in the Diaspora to fly in rabbis from Israel. An oligarch recently hired an airliner to ferry over musicians, artistes, and security alone. Consider the millions being spent each year on religious weddings. And then consider how much charitable and educational work could be accomplished instead of a one-night bash that disappears into photo albums a few hours after it is over, to be glanced at perhaps once a year thereafter. The cost and the waste is mind blowing.
Successful businessmen have to invite business contacts, flaunt their success to attract new capital, and invite gaggles of rabbis to prove their religious status and legitimacy. It is not just spoiled daughters who clamor for excess; it’s magnates, too.
Over the past 50 years of rising Jewish affluence, as well as continuing Jewish poverty, many religious leaders of all denominations have tried hard to limit excessive expenditures on weddings, to absolutely no avail. Desperate parents have offered apartments and cars instead of huge weddings. Occasionally, you hear of a couple who elope to Israel or just take a rabbi and two witnesses into Central Park, but the pressures are great — and in most Jewish circles, it is simply not an option.
Recently, I entertained a relatively humble Rosh Yeshiva from Israel with 10 children who has personal debts of $500,000 because of marrying off his five daughters. It was not just the cost of the wedding itself or all the celebrations. It was the need to buy an apartment for each that left him staggering under such a heavy load of debt. And at the same time, he must help and support his five sons who are also married but are studying full time. This is not atypical. A rented apartment is unacceptable nowadays. And the chances of someone with no serious secular education getting a good job are massively reduced in Israeli society, indeed in any society nowadays.
Judaism is expanding because of its families blessed with many children. And it is true that social welfare (incidentally a product of the secular culture they despise) enables this mindset. But eventually, at some point, social welfare will have to be cut back as fewer enter the workplace to fund all this with their taxes.
For our own good as a people, we must call a halt to throwing so much money away on pure self-indulgence. If we care for our future, we must give as much attention to supporting Jewish education as we do to celebrating occasions. And the place to start is weddings. Make your calculations. Then set budgets, be realistic, and divide the sum evenly between your needs and those of others.
It is a huge mitzvah to rejoice at weddings and to help couples get married. Every day in our prayers, we are reminded how important Hachnasat Kala is. But that doesn’t mean we should go overboard. There should be limits.
The author is a rabbi and writer based in New York.