In an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV on December 27, the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, indicated the possibility of restoration of ties between the Syrian regime and the Palestinian Hamas Movement. Nasrallah said, “This relationship must be restored, but it will take some time.”
Nasrallah also talked about his meetings with the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, over the past few months. The leader said, “We tackled strategic issues including the restoration of ties with Damascus, the hostility against Iran and the Arab normalization deals with Israel.”
In 2011, tensions broke out between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Hamas, when Syria condemned the group for not taking its side in the 2011 Syrian revolution. The ties further weakened when Hamas in 2012 transferred its political bureau from Syria—where it had been based since 1999—to Qatar, a major sponsor of the Syrian rebels and post-Mubarak Egypt. Since then, Assad has accused Hamas on several occasions of supporting Syrian opposition groups and fighting alongside them. Syrian authorities have also arrested Hamas members who remained within the country and seized their properties and assets.
In response, Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah have been leading mediation efforts since 2017, as they believe that the “Axis of Resistance” cannot be completed without Hamas. In fact, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, initiated a discussion to bridge the gap between the parties before he was assassinated in January last year.
Abdul Sattar Qassem, a professor of political science at An-Najah National University in Nablus, told Al-Monitor that “many reasons pushed the Syrian regime to value restoring ties with Hamas, especially since Assad had categorically rejected all mediation in recent years. These reasons include US military mobilisation in the region and fears that the United States and Israel would strike Iran or its allies, such as Hezbollah or the armed factions in Gaza, and concerns about the Syrian regime taking the remaining territory under the control of the opposition in northern Syria.”
According to Al-Monitor, Hamas has adopted a policy of secrecy and banned its officials to talk to the press about the nature of the negotiations to avoid derailing them. Nevertheless, authorities on both sides are both quietly optimistic. Though Syria has previously resisted any efforts to mend its relations with Hamas, observers believe that the atmosphere is more favourable for rapprochement this time.
Iran, Hezbollah Facilitate Reconciliation of Hamas-Syria Ties
Statements by the Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, have indicated the possibility of restoring relations between Hamas and Syria.
January 13, 2021
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad SOURCE: CFR