GAZA The resumption of relations between Damascus and Hamas, a point in favor of Assad

The meeting between the Syrian president and the Palestinian delegation is a “historic” moment that archives years of tensions. The “axis of resistance” against Israel that includes Tehran, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen is relaunched. Khalil al-Hayya, responsible for Hamas relations with the Arab world, speaks of a “glorious and important day”.

Damascus () – A “historic” moment that seems to have archived years of tensions and frozen relations between old allies, favored by the mediation work of Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah. For the more pragmatic, it is a rapprochement dictated by the latest political and diplomatic events in the Middle East linked to the Abraham Accords and to the growing union of intentions between Israel and some States in the area, especially the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait (in addition to Saudi Arabia, although in a more diluted position). These are the reasons that prompted a high-level delegation from Hamas – the Palestinian movement that dominates the Gaza Strip – to visit Damascus and meet with President Bashar al-Assad, after a impasse of a decade

The resumption of relations was announced by the Hamas delegation on October 19, during the visit to the Syrian capital and at the end of the “historic meeting” with Assad. At the time, the Palestinian group was one of the closest allies of the Arab country and long maintained a headquarters in Damascus, where its main figures used to take refuge in the past. A unity of purpose, 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 led to a bloody proxy war that left half a million dead.

Khalil al-Hayya, responsible for Hamas relations with the Arab world, spoke of a “glorious and important day” in which “we return to Syria” to resume “a common work” that had been interrupted. “This is a new beginning,” he added, “for joint Palestinian-Syrian action.” He then confirmed that both Hamas and Assad had agreed to “leave the past behind and look to the future.”

The resumption of relations between Damascus and Hamas marks one more point in Assad’s favor. Recently, the Syrian leader gave his approval to the resumption of relations with Turkey at the request of Moscow and in a perspective of common interests, especially in the containment of the jihadist centers that still operate in the northwest and dangerously close to the Turkish borders. . His understanding with Hamas contributes to the revival of the traditional “axis of resistance” against Israel, which also includes Tehran, the Lebanese Hezbollah and, more recently, the Houthis in Yemen.

In the last hours, the Syrian presidential office 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 (in the photo) holding hands, in the company of other officials from the Palestinian delegation.

A source from the Palestinian movement stressed that the “thaw” between Hamas and Damascus was achieved thanks to the mediation of Tehran and Hezbollah, after the Syrian leadership accused the Palestinian formation of “treason” during the last decade. Assad himself, although without mentioning them explicitly, had compared them in a 2013 speech to the regulars who treat the country like a “hotel” that is quickly abandoned “when the situation gets complicated.” In 2017, Hamas said it had severed ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the groups that fueled the internal Syrian opposition at war with the government army during the darkest and bloodiest years of the Syrian conflict.