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Hamas reaches out to new Saudi leadership

As Hamas offers its condolences for the death of the Saudi king, it seems to be using "funeral diplomacy" as an opportunity to re-establish ties with the Gulf state.
Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Meshaal (L) holds a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal following a meeting in Riyadh on Januray 3, 2010. Meshaal said that the Egyptian-led talks aimed at reconciling the Palestinian Islamist movement and its rival Fatah were close to bearing fruit. AFP PHOTO/PAUL HANDLEY (Photo credit should read PAUL HANDLEY/AFP/Getty Images)
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In an unprecedented move, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) published Hamas’ condolences for the death of King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud on Jan. 23. In its statement, Hamas expressed sympathies to new King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and the Saudi people.

On the evening of Jan. 25, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal offered his condolences to Majid al-Hassan, adviser to the Saudi Embassy in Qatar, and praised the Saudi role in supporting the Palestinian cause. The same day, a Hamas delegation headed by the movement’s representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka, offered its condolences to the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, Ali Asiri.

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