Turkey’s Tenuous Ties with Hamas Undermine Sweden’s NATO Bid

For the past year and a half, Turkey, a NATO member, has repeatedly refused to ratify ascension for future candidate Sweden. Ankara currently holds Stockholm as a “terrorist haven” as one of their justifications for the lack of ratification, but recently, the Turkish Republic has been put under the spotlight.

Hamas’ deadly terror attacks on October 7 have put the world on edge, and the Middle East is heading towards a regional conflict that will affect millions of people. Turkey’s ties with Hamas and their incredibly hostile rhetoric with a major non-NATO ally in Israel now puts the Turkish government’s hypocrisy in full view regarding combating terrorist organizations.

Turkey’s Cavalier Politics to Sweden’s NATO Bid

During the spring of 2022, Finland and Sweden, reassessing their security apparatus, decided to apply for formal NATO membership as Russia became a bad-faith actor. The application between the two Nordic nations is well received by every NATO member, save for Turkey and, by extension, Hungary.

Ankara and Budapest would clarify their disputes were aimed more at Stockholm than Helsinki, and Finland would later be ratified into NATO in 2023. Hungary’s objections include disputes with Sweden over EU policies, and Turkey’s objections would include Sweden’s sheltering of PKK members along with Turkish and Kurdish dissidents.

The ruling AKP party of Turkey continuously states Sweden does not meet their requirements for NATO membership, and the amnesties given to dissidents that are wanted by the state constitute their red line on ascension, which the Turkish Republic has maintained since the initial PKK insurgency in the late 80s.

Ankara has explicitly stated they will not ratify Stockholm’s membership until extraditions of dissidents wanted by the Turkish state take place. Though Sweden has committed steps, there is a conflict over international law and Swedish courts over the potential human rights breaches of said extraditions.

Turkey at the Forefront over Hamas Ties

Despite Turkey’s geopolitical gridlock with Sweden, the country and Qatar have come under the limelight in the aftermath of the October 7th terrorist attacks against Israel. Despite asking the group’s leadership to leave on October 23, the ties to Hamas may backfire on Turkish foreign policy, even when Erdogan signed Sweden’s ascension on the same day.

Hamas led one of the most sophisticated and repulsive terrorist operations the world has seen since the September 11th Attacks. As of this article, over 1300 Israelis were killed by various means, such as gunshot executions sexual assaults, and some were even burned alive.

Hamas, a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, is currently commanded by leadership in Qatar and Turkey. Hamas, an Islamist organization, is attracted to President Erdogan’s views of pan-Islamist ideology and neo-Ottoman ambitions that threaten neighboring countries such as Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia.

Instead of attempting to calm the situation that can brew into a regional conflict, the Turkish government has heightened warlike rhetoric towards Israel—effectively killing any chance of rapprochement between both countries.

Not only are some Hamas leaders in Turkey, but the Turkish government has quietly funded the Palestinian militants. It has not yet condemned the organization for igniting a potential regional war. It should be noted that Ankara has a continuous grudge against Tel Aviv over the flotilla incident, and due to Türkiye’s aggressive posture, Israel has grown closer to Greece and Cyprus.

Erdogan is No Longer Able to Enforce Demands

The October 7th attacks, ties to Hamas, and Ankara’s reactions have only shown the Turkish government’s hypocrisy when it comes to fighting terrorism.

Sweden’s national security now rests on their cooperation in extraditions of PKK affiliates. However, the Turkish government has done little to force Hamas to surrender or extradite members to Israel to face trial. Instead, rhetoric by the Turkish government has only led to Israel’s call on its citizens to leave Turkey immediately in fear of reprisal attacks by pro-Palestinian agitators.

Turkey’s stance towards a significant non-NATO ally is questionable. It makes other NATO members wonder what Erdogan truly wants as Ankara has hinted at the need and blackmail for F16 shipments from the United States.

Suppose Turkey continues to refuse to combat Hamas and not cooperate with Israel. In that case, Washington can force Ankara’s hand by another veto of F16s and make a separate mutual defense pact with Stockholm to keep Sweden under the nuclear umbrella if the Turkish parliament continues to hold gridlock.

Turkey is also currently facing an ongoing economic decline with ever-growing inflation. As Erdogan would have to rely on Western financial support, such as funds from the EU, to keep the economy afloat, Sweden is also positioned to hold their veto power in the bloc against the Turkish Republic.

Turkey now finds itself at a disadvantage—once holding Sweden through blackmail over harboring a terrorist organization, Ankara has done the same with Hamas. No longer holding the moral high ground over combating terrorism, the Turkish Republic will continue to lose favor amongst NATO allies and Stockholm with their regional disputes with Israel.