Gaza, Oct 15 (IANS): Islamic Hamas movement called on Turkey and Syria to end their differences and disputes.

"Hamas calls for speeding up the efforts to resolve the disputes and differences in the region ... in order to have time for defending the causes of the nations," Hamas said in an emailed press statement on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hamas also said that it appreciates "the Turkish positions towards the Palestinian cause and its support of the rights of the Palestinian people, adding "we understand the right of Turkey to protect its borders and defend itself."

Meanwhile, Hamas said in the statement that it emphasizes the territorial integrity of Syria.

"Hamas rejects the Israeli and American presence in the region, and considers it a factor of bombing and tension, and in this context, Hamas stresses the need to complete the American withdrawal from the region," it said.

It is the first reaction from Hamas to the Turkish military invasion to northern Syria. However, the Palestinian Authority and its chief Mahmoud Abbas refrained from making any comment on the Turkish-Syrian crisis.