Hamas begins rapprochement with Hezbollah, Iran
A series of meetings in Beirut have brought Hamas and Hezbollah closer, after their divided stances on the Syrian issue and in light of a possible conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
It is no longer a secret that there has been swift rapprochement between Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. The crowning move would be for Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas’ political bureau, to visit Tehran for Hamas to completely return to the Axis of Resistance.
What is new in the relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah is what Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced on TV on Jan. 15 regarding Hamas' having serious intentions to redress its relationship with Hezbollah and Iran. Nasrallah said this decision was a central one taken by the Hamas leadership locally and abroad, and that bilateral relations have come a long way.
Nasrallah’s tone in talking about Hamas left a positive impact on the movement, knowing that this reconciliatory discourse did not emerge overnight. It was rather the fruit of a series of meetings between Hamas and Hezbollah in Beirut, during which Hezbollah felt that Hamas was seriously willing to thaw out the frozen relations between the two over the Syrian issue. The coming days might hide other positive steps in favor of the rapprochement.
The increased rapprochement between Hamas and Hezbollah has given Hamas breathing space, allowing it to partly come out of the political isolation imposed on it in the past months, following the boycott with Egypt, the Qatari-Gulf reconciliation and pressure applied on Turkey for hosting Hamas officials.
