Hamas has called on Saudi Arabia to prevent the normalization of relations with Israel. The appeal, which went up on Hamas' website July 31, raised eyebrows among those who understand Hamas' complicated situation and the importance of tightening relations with Saudi Arabia. The leaders of the movement, who only a year ago thanked Allah for their honorable reception at the palace of the Saudi king, now dare to rebuke the king for his relations with Israel?
Relations between Hamas and Saudi Arabia grew tighter in the past year following the nuclear agreement between six world powers and Tehran. Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, who succeeded his father, then decided on a surprising strategic move and invited the leaders of Hamas, who were then persona non grata in Riyadh, to a meeting at his palace. From the king's standpoint, tightened relations with Hamas — after long years of hostility for its support by Tehran — would enable the Saudis to get closer to the Sunni nations and allow it direct influence on the movement controlling Gaza. Saudi Arabia already has a close relationship with the Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.
"This is Saudi Arabia's diplomatic path: to bring close any faction, movement, organization or state in the Arab world to distance them as much as possible from Tehran," one of the leaders of the Fatah movement in the West Bank told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. According to him, the Saudi king has no interest in a foothold in the Palestinian territories, but through monetary aid amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza and Ramallah, the Saudis hope to be able to serve as a fair and influential moderator in the Arab-Israeli conflict and that one day the two sides will be receptive to the 2002 Saudi initiative for resolving the conflict — the Arab Peace Initiative, which is still on the table.
In recent years, Hamas has lost most of the sponsors that have helped it function and hold on to its rule in the Gaza Strip by force. After the bitter disappointment in Qatar, which did not keep its extravagant promises to Hamas after the crisis with Iran, Hamas leaders discovered that even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unreliable. Turkey’s reconciliation agreement in June with Israel did not bring about the lifting of the siege on Gaza, despite the promises made.
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