Turkey looks set to again invite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the Turkish parliament. The country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, earlier this week complained that Abbas had not replied to an earlier invitation.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus was on July 31 cited as saying by state-run news service Anadolu Agency that "if there are no issues, we will invite Mr Abbas to the Turkish Parliament General Assembly and he will explain the Palestinian cause in front of lawmakers".

His words came as the Middle East remained on edge over the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in an attack widely thought to have been carried out by Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The fear is that the incident could spark a military attack against Israel by Iran, which could ignite a wider regional war.

In a statement posted on X, Erdogan, who in the past has allowed members of the political wing of Hamas to reside in Turkey, condemned the assassination said the killing would not break Palestinians’ will.

“This assassination is a vileness that aims to disrupt the Palestinian cause, Gaza’s noble resistance and our Palestinian siblings’ rightful struggle, to break the will of Palestinians, and to intimidate them,” Erdogan said, adding: “However, just as until today, the Zionist barbarism will not reach its goals.”

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through central Istanbul late on July 31 to protest against the killing of the Hamas leader.

Reuters reported that demonstrators held posters with photos of Haniyeh's and banners reading, "Martyr Haniyeh, Jerusalem is our cause and your path is our path".

Protesters also reportedly chanted "murderer Israel, get out of Palestine" and "thousands of greetings from Istanbul to the resistance in Gaza", while waving Turkish and Palestinian flags during the march in the Fatih district of Istanbul.