Hamas-Fatah division deepens with Soleimani’s assassination
Palestinians express conflicting opinions over the US assassination of Iran's Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, while faction leaders praise him as a martyr.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The US assassination of top Iranian military commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani this month in Iraq has triggered conflicting positions among Palestinians.
In the Gaza Strip, most Palestinian factions condemned the Jan. 3 assassination. Some leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad offered Iran condolences at the funeral in Tehran of Soleimani, who led the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Meanwhile, however, many Palestinian social media activists rebuked their leadership’s position. They lashed out at Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, who visited Iran to speak at Soleimani’s funeral and dubbed the general the “Martyr of Jerusalem.” The same opposition to the leadership applied to Palestinians who supported the Arab Spring revolutions, specifically the Syrian revolution.
These Soleimani critics view him as the biggest contributor to the failure of the Arab revolutions that began in 2011 and hold him responsible for the deaths of many Syrians. The deputy head of the Islamic Movement, Kamal al-Khatib, who is known as a Hamas supporter but an Iran detractor, mocked Iran for what he considered its lame response to the assassination. He posted on his Facebook page Jan. 8, referring to missiles Iran launched that struck Ain al-Asad base in Iraq where US troops are stationed: “After a week of Iranian threats, promises ... and fiery statements, we saw a set of Iranian ballistic missiles — or were they plastic missiles that had no effect other than cracking like fireworks?"
