A local US court has ruled that a foreign bank in Istanbul has financed the terrorist organization Hamas, adding to Turkey's accusations of facilitating terrorist funding.
According to Arab News, Ankara has remained silent on the decision, but after the court ruling, Turkey could face more international isolation and its relations with Israel could be affected.
Three U.S. law firms, including Stan Mitchell, launched legal action against the Kuwaiti Turkish Bank last year for financing terrorism.
The operation follows the killings of Israeli couple Orphan and Naama Hanken, who were shot dead in the West Bank. He was accompanied by four children aged four to nine who were injured in the incident.
Orphan Hanken had American citizenship while his wife was a foreigner. Hamas hailed the attack as "brave resistance."
In its ruling, the New York District Court ruled that the Kuwaiti Turkish bank had operated several bank accounts to fund Hamas.
According to the court, the bank was "fully aware of the facilitation of Hamas' violent activities through these accounts."
Jonathan Schenzer, vice president of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, wrote in a tweet on Friday: "We all knew about Iran's support for Hamas, but were unaware of the fact that Turkey Provides financial support.
The court also criticized Turkey for failing to ban the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), which raise funds for Hamas in the country.
The court ruling said that from 2012 to 2015, Kuwait Turkish Bank assisted in funding for Yaghmour, IHH and IUG through a number of accounts. On Thursday, the British newspaper The Times claimed that Hamas had set up a secret headquarters in Istanbul from where it carried out cyber attacks and spying on Saudi and Emirati embassies in the Middle East and Europe.
In August, the United States sharply criticized Turkey for hosting Erdogan's two Hamas leaders.
A US State Department spokesman said in a tweet that the United States strongly objected to President Erdogan's hosting of the two Hamas leaders, adding that such contacts could isolate Turkey and affect global efforts against terrorism.
