Israeli media is reporting that senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah met with officials from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps for an iftar meal [breaking of the Ramadan fast]in Beirut this week. According to a Times of Israel report:
Senior members of the Palestinian terror group Hamas and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah met with officials from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps for an iftar meal [breaking of the Ramadan fast]in Beirut this week, according to Palestinian media reports.
The unusual rendezvous was not looked upon favorably by some in Hamas, given Iran’s (and Hezbollah’s) role in Syria, where Palestinians find themselves on the opposite side of the civil war.
The head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, was based in Damascus for years until the Syrian civil war broke out in March 2011, placing the Sunni Hamas in an awkward position. After he failed to publicly support the Shiite-aligned regime of Bashar Assad — irking Iran — he left the Syrian capital for Doha, Qatar.
According to Palestinian media reports, the dinner infuriated lower-level Hamas members who took to social media to express their opposition to the meeting. Angry messages were also sent to Mashaal, according to the reports, while the group’s leadership in Gaza and the West Bank refrained from addressing the issue.
Hamas’s military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on the other hand, expressed its approval for the perceived rapprochement between Hamas and Iran, as its interest in getting reacquainted with Tehran for funding purposes has grown.”
Read the rest here.
GMBDW reporting on Hamas/Iranian reconciliation has included:
- In April, the GMBDW reported that Iran had sent tens of millions of dollars to Hamas in order to help it rebuild its Gaza tunnel network and to fund new missile supplies.
- In March, we reported that Hamas political leader Khalid Meshaal had met in Doha, Qatar with the Iranian Shura Council Speaker, Ali Larijani.
- The GMBDW reported in December 2014 that a high-level Hamas delegation had arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran yesterday on an official visit and was expected at that time to prepare for a trip to Tehran by Meshall.
- The GMBDW reported in January 2014 on what was described the “rapprochement” between Hamas and Iran following a three year breach. We had already reported in October 2013 that that Hamas had succeeded in re-establishing close ties with Iran.
For a profile on Hamas, go here.