Hamas' prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, has decided to name his grandson Erdogan as a gesture to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, media outlets in the Palestinian Authority and Arab world reported Monday.
Relatives of the Hamas leader said he had decided to name his new grandson, born Tuesday night, in a show of gratitude to the Turkish prime minister for his stand in regards to the Palestinian issue following the deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.
Haniyeh is not the first Palestinian to honor Erdogan. A couple from the southern Strip town of Khan Younis, which named its son after the Turkish leader in June, said they had admired Erdogan even before the flotilla affair.
"Erdogan is a noble leader, who has lately expressed honorable positions for the benefit of the Palestinian nation, and the legitimate government in Gaza," they said.