No Improvement in Sight For Hamas, Hezbollah Ties
Hamas and Hezbollah are continuing on divergent paths concerning Syria, and the relationship will remain strained for the foreseeable future.
It is no longer a secret that the political relations between the two most prominent allies in the region for more than 20 years, Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have significantly deteriorated in light of differences over the Syrian revolution and the emergence of new powers in the region after the Arab Spring.
In the past, Hamas and Hezbollah stood together in the so-called “axis of defiance” led by Iran and Syria against the “axis of moderation” led Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Then the Arab revolutions spawned a “Sunni axis” led by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Hamas saw itself as part of that axis, in opposition to the “Shiite axis” led by Iran, Syria, Iraq and Hezbollah.
A cooling Hamas-Hezbollah relationship
This article will not analyze the historic dimensions of the Hamas-Hezbollah alliance, but will focus on their declining relationship, which reached the point of mutual media accusations in recent weeks.
