Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, was in Tehran for the funeral of Qassem Soleimani. He was the only non-Iranian speaker at the funeral. The details are here:
The leader of the Hamas terror group spoke at the Tehran funeral of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on Monday, crediting the Quds Force leader with building his and other Palestinian groups.
What Soleimani “provided to Palestine and the resistance has brought them to the position they are in today in terms of power and steadfastness,” Haniyeh said.
Dubbing Soleimani “the martyr of Jerusalem,” Haniyeh said his death would not deter Palestinian terror groups from fighting.
“I affirm that the resistance project in Palestine to confront the Zionist project and resist the American domination project will not be broken, be weakened or hesitate,” Haniyeh said. “It will continue along its firm path, the path of resistance, until it drives out the occupiers from our land and Jerusalem.”
Soleimani, the head of the IRGC’s expeditionary Quds Force, had an outsize role in managing Iran’s network of proxy groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Shiite militias in Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.
While Hamas, the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, has at times been supported by Iran, it has also resisted moving too close to hardliners in Tehran, unlike fellow Gazan terror group Islamic Jihad, which has built up a large arsenal thanks in large degree to support from the Islamic Republic.
Haniyeh’s words make clear that Hamas views Soleimani’s killing as a great loss; his high-level participation in Soleimani’s Tehran funeral, bespeaks a complete rapprochement between Hamas and Iran. There had previously been conflict over Syria, where Iran supported Assad’s government, and Hamas had supported the largely Sunni opposition to the Alawite dictator. Both parties now appear to have gotten beyond that, with Hamas recognizing it is more important to retain Iran’s support than to express solidarity with fellow Sunnis in Syria.
Iran and Hamas have in recent years sought to reinvigorate their relationship after the two found themselves on opposite sides in the early years of the Syrian civil war. In the past several years, senior Hamas figures have visited Tehran and praised the Islamic Republic for vowing to support Palestinian terror groups in Gaza. However, Hamas has also sought to maintain ties with other countries such as Egypt which largely views Iran as a regional foe.
Egypt has been useful to Hamas, serving as a go-between with Israel to establish the shaky ceasefire that Hamas now deems to be in its interest. But Egypt is no friend of Hamas. It remains deeply suspicious of Hamas, which it rightly regards as closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian regime’s nemesis. And Egypt’s opposition to Iran and its designs in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon remains implacable
Haniyeh’s appearance at the Tehran funeral for Soleimani, alongside Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other top leaders of the Islamic Republic, could be read as a signal that the group is seeking to identify even more closely with Iran.
But it comes as Hamas has also shown a willingness to work more closely with Egypt on a truce agreement with Israel, which has been taking shape in recent weeks.
Hamas notably stayed on the sidelines during a flare-up between Israel and Gaza’s Iran-backed Islamic Jihad in November, reportedly annoying some in Tehran. A column in a Tehran daily last week accused Hamas of allying with Israel by refusing to enter the fight.
There are still differences between Hamas, which badly needs a ceasefire with Israel, and the fanatics in Tehran who want Hamas to keep fighting Israel down to the last Palestinian. But pictures from the funeral posted by Khamenei’s website showed Haniyeh just steps behind the supreme leader, and he was one of only a handful of speakers, including Soleimani’s children. It seems that between Hamas and Iran, all is forgiven.
Haniyeh, who left Gaza in December on a multi-country tour, the first time he has traveled beyond Egypt since 2017, told the crowd that the “resistance” will not be bowed in its aims by assassinations.
“I say that the project of resistance in Palestine and the region will not be weakened or fall into a recession,” Haniyeh said. “Assassinations will only make us more strong, and persevere and insistent on moving toward the liberation of Jerusalem and Palestine.”
The Hamas chief called Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday and expressed his condolences to him on the death of Soleimani.
Zarif thanked the Hamas chairman for the call and said that Iran would continue to back “the Palestinian people’s rights and resistance in defense of its land and holy sites,” the terror group’s report said.
But as we shall see in the next installment, not all Palestinians were sad to see the last of Qassem Soleimani.
Infidel says
Hamas should probably look at greener (in a manner of speaking) pastures for support – namely Turkey/Qatar. So that they can strengthen their Sunni credentials. Same goes for Islamic Jihad.
Similarly, Iran should focus on prioritizing how to prevent their regime from crumbling, since Shi’a from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran itself seem to be revolting against Khamenei
gravenimage says
Hamas has gotten funding from both Sunnis and Shias, because *all* Muslims want to murder Jews.
Gork says
Minor correction: Iranians speak Farsi.
gravenimage says
Not All Palestinians Were Sad to See the Last of Qassem Soleimani (Part 1)
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This is true–but this more reflects the Sunni/Shia split than any problem with Jihad terror itself.
Or Else! says
Taqiyya Terminology entry:
resistance (noun) – to be used in place of “jihad” in order to fool witless, naive infidels into believing Islam is the victim. See also: “Religion of Peace”.