The Jerusalem Post has report on comments by an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserting that Hamas is receiving orders from the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the report:
Hamas does not want reconciliation and is continuing to work toward establishing an Islamic emirate in Palestine,” said Azzam Ahmed, a senior Fatah official closely associated with Abbas. Asked about remarks attributed to Abbas to the effect that he did not want to meet with Mashaal because the latter was a “liar,” Ahmed said: “Yes, it’s true. President Abbas did call Mashaal a liar because Mashaal lied to him several times. I also heard many Arabs say that Mashaal is a liar. In my opinion, Hamas lies each time it breathes. They are hiding under the cover of Islam.” Ahmed also accused Iran and Syria of inciting Hamas against returning to the negotiating table with Fatah. Hamas, he added, receives instructions from the international leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood organization. “Even the decision to form an alliance with Iran and Syria does not belong to Hamas,” he said. “The decision came from the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Iranians and Syrians are continuing to incite Hamas.”Ahmed said that Abbas had decided to call off a meeting with Mashaal in Damascus after learning that the Hamas leader had sent a letter to some Arab leaders in which he accused the PA president of succumbing to US pressure to boycott Hamas.
A number of prior posts have provided evidence of the links between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas including:
– An early media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations.
– In January, Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas.
-In June, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons.
It should also be noted that the global Muslim Brotherhood also actively supports Hamas. As a recent post has discussed, Global Muslim Brotherhood groups from around the have organized protests against Israeli actions in Gaza which the Israelis say are a response to repeated rocket fire from the territory into Israel. Previous posts have also discussed the Union of Good, a worldwide network of charities believed to be raising funds for Hamas and headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi.