Resumption of relations between Damascus and Hamas a point in Assad's favour
The meeting between the Syrian president and the Palestinian delegation is a "historic" moment that archives years of tensions. Relaunch of "axis of resistance" against Israel that includes Tehran, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. Hamas head of relations with the Arab world, Khalil al-Hayya, speaks of a "glorious and important day".
Damascus (AsiaNews) - A "historic" moment that seems to have archived years of tensions and frozen relations between former allies, favoured by the mediation work of Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
This rapprochement, for the more pragmatic, is dictated by the latest political and diplomatic developments in the Middle East linked to the Abraham Accords and the growing union of intentions between Israel and some States in the area, above all the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait (in addition to Saudi Arabia, albeit in a more defiladed position).
These are the reasons that, after a decade of erecting walls, prompted a high-level delegation of Hamas - the Palestinian movement that dominates the Gaza Strip - to visit Damascus and meet President Bashar al-Assad.
The resumption of relations was announced by the Hamas delegation itself on 19 October, during the visit to the Syrian capital and at the conclusion of the "historic meeting" with Assad. At one time, the Palestinian group was among the Arab country's closest allies and had long maintained a headquarters in Damascus where its leading figures often found refuge in the past. This unity of intent is linked to the common opposition to Israel. In 2012, Hamas had left Syria after supporting street protests against the government and its leader, which later resulted in a bloody proxy war with half a million dead.
Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas' head of relations with the Arab world, spoke of a "glorious and important day" in which "we return to our home Syria" to resume "a common work" that had been interrupted for some time. "This is a new beginning," he added, "for a joint Palestinian and Syrian action" and then confirmed that both Hamas and Assad had both agreed to "leave the past behind and look to the future".
The resumption of relations between Damascus and Hamas marks a further point in Assad's favour. In the recent period, the Syrian leader has given the go-ahead for the resumption of relations with Turkey at the instigation of Moscow and in a perspective of common interests, particularly in the containment of jihadist pockets still active in the north-west and dangerously close to the Turkish borders. Its understanding with Hamas contributes to the revival of the traditional 'axis of resistance' against Israel that also includes Tehran, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and more recently the Houthis in Yemen.
In recent hours, the Syrian presidency has also commented on the meeting between Assad and the delegation of Palestinian leaders, although without explicitly referring to the "resumption of relations with Hamas". However, a photo of Assad himself and al-Hayya (pictured) holding hands in the company of other officials of the Palestinian delegation was given wide prominence.
A source in the Palestinian movement stressed that the "thaw" between Hamas and Damascus was brokered by Tehran and Hezbollah, after the Syrian leadership had accused the Palestinian formation of "treason" over the past decade.
Assad himself, while not naming them explicitly, had in a 2013 speech likened them to patrons who treat the country like a "hotel" to be abandoned in a hurry "when conditions get difficult". In 2017, Hamas said it had broken ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, among the entities that fuelled the internal Syrian opposition at war with the government army during the darkest and bloodiest years of the Syrian conflict.
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04/05/2021 09:34
24/11/2017 10:06
