Hamas' rapprochement with Iran endangers deal with Israel
The high-level Hamas visit to Tehran does not bode well for the movement's arrangement with Israel.
A Hamas delegation went to Tehran this week and met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei July 22. Ever since the deputy head of Hamas’ diplomatic wing, Saleh Al-Arouri, was elected to the position two years ago, his goal has been to tighten contacts with Tehran in light of the disconnection that has prevailed since the days of former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, who is persona non grata in Iran.
Al-Arouri has visited Tehran before, but this time he was greeted as an honored ally when he met with Iran’s spiritual leader. Khamenei promised Al-Arouri continued military and economic aid because “victory over the enemy will only be achieved through struggle and resistance” and added, “Only a few years ago the Palestinians fought the Zionist enemy with stones, and today they are equipped with precise missiles.” Tehran gave the missiles to Hamas in part due to Al-Arouri’s reconciliation efforts.
Al-Arouri promised “Hamas will be Iran’s first line of defense in the shadow of the recent aggression of the West” and that “any enemy of Iran is an enemy of Palestine and of the opposition axis.”
Al-Arouri, who has lived in Beirut since being expelled from Istanbul, claims to speak for all Palestinians and proudly praises their strong military resistance versus forces that are ten times larger and more powerful than Hamas, as if Hamas were a world power. Perhaps in Hamas’ present condition, words are important even if they have no connection to reality.
