U.S.-Designated Hamas Official Says Erdoğan Promised Protection “Like Our Own Children”
A U.S.-designated Hamas official in Turkey claimed Erdoğan personally promised protection to Hamas-linked prisoners transferred there after the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal
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In a May 2024 Turkish television interview, Musa Akkari, a Hamas-linked prisoner freed in the Gilad Shalit exchange and later designated by the United States as a senior Hamas official based in Turkey, claimed that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had personally told him and other released prisoners transferred to Turkey that the country would protect and care for them as it protects and cares for its own children.
The Turkish-language remark aired on Akit TV’s Kırmızı Masa, in an episode archived as “Siyonizmin işkence yöntemleri 11 Mayıs Cumartesi,” or “Zionism’s torture methods, Saturday, May 11.”
The U.S. Treasury later named Akkari, under the spelling Musa Daud Muhammad Akari, as a senior Hamas official in Turkey and said he had previously been convicted of kidnapping and murdering an Israeli border police officer. The broader case record identifies that officer as Nissim Toledano, abducted by Hamas in Lod in December 1992 and found dead two days later.
The Assurance Akkari Described
In the Akit TV interview, Akkari recounted Erdoğan’s alleged message to the released prisoners who arrived in Turkey after the 2011 Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange. Translated from Turkish, Akkari said: “Just as we protect our own children, just as we care for our own children, we will protect you in the same way and care for you in the same way.”
The Middle East Forum separately reported the same passage, translating Akkari’s claim as Erdoğan telling the men, “Just as we protect our own children, we will protect you and care for you in the same way.” The key point is attribution: the video documents Akkari making the claim; it does not independently prove Erdoğan said those words.
The Man Behind the Claim
Akkari was not an anonymous exile. On November 19, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Musa Daud Muhammad Akari as a senior Hamas official based in Turkey, accusing him of facilitating the flow of funds from Turkey into Gaza and the West Bank for Hamas. Treasury also stated that Akari had previously been convicted of kidnapping and murdering an Israeli border police officer. OFAC’s sanctions notice listed him as a Palestinian citizen located in Turkey and linked to Hamas under the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation.
That conviction traces back to the December 1992 kidnapping and murder of Toledano, a 29-year-old Israeli Border Police officer. The Washington Post reported at the time that Toledano’s body was found with his hands and feet bound, with stab wounds and strangulation marks, after Hamas demanded the release of its founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
From Prisoner Exchange to Turkish Platform
The Shalit deal released 1,027 prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for more than five years. In October 2011, 40 released Palestinian terrorists were sent into exile in Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and Syria.
Turkish-language sources confirm that Akkari publicly framed Turkey as the country that received and protected him after that exchange. In a January 2024 Yeni Akit interview, Akkari said he came to Turkey in 2011 “thanks to” Erdoğan, who was then prime minister, and added that “Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership never left us alone.” A later 24 TV report described Akkari recounting a meeting with Erdoğan after his release from prison, further showing that Akkari’s public narrative centered on direct access to Turkey’s leader.
Akkari also became a visible Hamas-linked figure inside Turkey. VOA Türkçe reported in October 2023 that HÜDA PAR held a press conference in the Turkish parliament with “Hamas’s Turkey representative Dr. Musa Akkari.” In Turkish Islamist media, he defended Hamas as a “freedom movement,” framed Qassam fighters as acting legitimately to defend occupied land, and praised Erdoğan’s stance on Gaza and Israel.
From Public Rhetoric to Private Protection
Erdoğan’s public defense of Hamas is not new. Reuters reported in October 2023 that Erdoğan said Hamas was not a terrorist organization, but a “liberation group” fighting to protect Palestinian lands.
Akkari’s Akit TV interview adds a narrower and more specific claim. In his account, Erdoğan’s message was not a broad public statement about Hamas, but a direct assurance to released prisoners who had been transferred to Turkey after the Shalit exchange.
That distinction is what makes the remark significant. Akkari was not an anonymous exile. He had been convicted in the Toledano kidnapping and murder case, released in a prisoner exchange, relocated to Turkey, publicly active in Turkish pro-Hamas circles, and later designated by the United States as a senior Hamas official based there.