Hamas: Turkey has right to remove threats along borders

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Turkey has the right to defend itself and remove the threats along its borders, said the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Monday.

The statement came less than a week after the launch of Turkey's anti-terrorism operation across its southern border, in northern Syria, meant to defend against the YPG/PKK terrorist threat to both Turkey and Syria's territorial integrity.

Hamas added that it "appreciates the Turkish positions on the Palestinian issue and support for the rights of the Palestinian people, the latest of which is the position of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the summit of the UN's General Assembly."

At the UN in New York last month, Erdogan blasted Israeli policies aimed at taking away Palestinian territories.

In its statement, Hamas reiterated its rejection of the "Zionist and American presence in the region" and affirmed "the unity and territorial integrity of the state of Syria."

Turkey last Wednesday launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara wants to clear northern Syria east of the Euphrates River of the terrorist PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the PYD/YPG.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.