Reconciliation drive between Hamas, Saudis hits wall
Hamas wants to restore ties with Saudi Arabia, but mediation efforts were stymied by disagreements over the US "deal of the century," the Arab Peace Initiative and other issues.
Mediation designed to reboot the connection between Saudi Arabia and Hamas has failed, with the former issuing conditions the latter rejects, according to anonymous sources cited by Arabi21 news.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set the condition that before his kingdom reconciles witih Hamas, the movement must resolve its differences with the United States, Arabi21 reported Jan. 9. This implies that Hamas would have to recognize Israel and its right to exist, which Hamas rejects.
Tension has prevailed in Saudi-Hamas ties since Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir demanded in 2017 that Qatar halt support for Hamas and other groups he characterized as extremists. The Saudi arrests last year of Hamas activists and sympathizers aggravated the situation. In April and May, Saudi Arabia arrested more than 60 Palestinians, Jordanians and Saudis on charges of sympathizing with Hamas and collecting donations for the movement. The Saudi campaign also involved freezing the assets of some of the detainees and supervising financial transactions.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of the Hamas politburo, told the Paltoday news website Jan. 13 that the problem of the detained Hamas sympathizers in Saudi Arabia has yet to be resolved.
