Palestinian Hamas Announces Restoring Ties With Syria

Hamas rocket unit. Illustrative image.

On September 15, the Palestinian Hama Movement announced restoring ties with Syria, ten years after closing its offices in the capital, Damascus.

In a statement, the movement condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on Syria, especially the recent strikes on Damascus and Aleppo airports, and rejected all attempts to normalize and integrate Israel into relations in the Islamic world.

“We appreciate the Syrian leadership and people for supporting the Palestinian people and their just cause. We look forward to the day when Syria restores its leading position in the Arab and Islamic Ummah,” the statement reads. “Hamas supports all sincere efforts aimed to achieve peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria.”

Hamas went on call for “ending all manifestations of conflict in the Ummah and fulfilling reconciliations and understandings between its compartments and countries through serious dialogue.”

The movement concluded its statement by stressing that it will go ahead with its decision to restore ties with Syria to “serve the interest of the Arab and Islamic Ummah,” and “above all the Palestinian cause.”

Earlier, a high-ranking Hamas official told AFP that “communications with Syria are improving, and they are on the way back to completely becoming what they were before,” referring to “several visits by Hamas leaders to Syria.”

Hamas declared its support for the Syrian opposition and closed its offices in Damascus early on in the Syrian crisis. Later, Damascus accused the movement of providing support to the armed rebels.

Talk of a reconciliation between Syria and Hamas first emerged in June. Back then, Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been making efforts to restore relations between the two sides.

At the time, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the largest al-Qaeda-affiliated faction in Syria, called on Hamas to refrain from restoring relations with the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The movement has clearly ignored the plea.

The Syrian government is yet to comment on Hama’s statement. Before the outbreak of the war in the country, the movement received massive financial and military support from Damascus.

By restoring relations with Syria, Hamas is likely trying to strengthen its stand against Israel. At the same time, Damascus could benefit from its relations with the group, who enjoys a very strong influence within the Islamic world. The movement has close ties with two of Damascus main foes, Turkey and Qatar.

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