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A Hamas delegation has arrived in Syria for the first time since the terror organisation severed ties with Damascus a decade ago, with the warming of ties being brokered by Iran and Hezbollah.
The Hamas delegation arrived in Damascus on Wednesday for two days of talks where Palestinian factions will meet with Syria’s President Bashar Assad. Hamas was originally one of Assad’s closest allies but left Syria in 2012 following the suppression of protests the previous year and Syria’s descent into civil war. Hamas has origins in the transnational Muslim Brotherhood, whose Syrian branch was a leading opposition faction fighting against Assad during the civil war.
A spokesman for Hamas cited “rapid regional and international developments surrounding our cause and our nation” as the justification for normalising ties with Syria. Reports indicate this is a reference to the growing number of Arab countries which have begun to normalise ties with Israel.
According to a senior Hamas source, this process of normalisation was brokered by Iran and its proxy Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Hamas plans to reopen an office in Damascus, but its leader has said it is “too early” to talk about relocating its main headquarters to Syria.
