After more than a decade marked by no ties, a rare meeting was held in Damascus this past Wednesday between Bashar al-Assad and a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, in charge of relations with the Arab and Islamic countries and deputy of the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. The patrons of the event were clearly Iran and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who recently mediated between the parties. Not surprisingly, the Iranian media hastened to celebrate the reconciliation and defined it as a "historic day for the axis of resistance."
During the civil war, Assad, with the help of his supporters, was behind the death of thousands of Palestinians from the refugee camps in Syria. Consequently, Hamas condemned the President's actions and even supported the fight against him on the part of the armed opponents, mainly from those who belong to the stream of the Muslim Brotherhood – the parent movement of Hamas (at least until 2017). What then are parties’ respective interests in renewing relations?
On the part of Hamas, the picture is clear enough: Hamas is isolated in most of the Arab world and therefore needs support from Assad, who strives to return and receive legitimacy for his regime from the Arab world at large. In addition, since Syria is an important actor in the axis of resistance, Hamas's integration in the axis is strengthened following the reconciliation. In its view, the move may boost its dominant position in the Palestinian struggle. In fact, this can be seen as part of the accelerated diplomacy evident in the region recently and a counter-reaction to the Abraham Accords with Israel – a reunification of the traditional axis of resistance.
Syria, for its part, launched a process of normalization with Arab countries when it renewed relations with the United Arab Emirates (in 2018), and Bahrain and Jordan (last year). What seemed quite promising at the time has proven to be rather faltering and lacking the ability to leverage it toward the additional achievements that it hoped for (mainly in view of the American pressure), such as a return to the Arab League, from which it was suspended. The renewal of relations with Hamas is a kind of consolation prize in this context and allows Syria to renew its position and image as an Arab country that supports the Palestinian issue. Another possibility is that Assad was pressured by Iran to advance the move. The main beneficiary of the move is Tehran, which expands and tightens the axis of resistance against Israel that it leads with determination.
After more than a decade marked by no ties, a rare meeting was held in Damascus this past Wednesday between Bashar al-Assad and a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, in charge of relations with the Arab and Islamic countries and deputy of the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. The patrons of the event were clearly Iran and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who recently mediated between the parties. Not surprisingly, the Iranian media hastened to celebrate the reconciliation and defined it as a "historic day for the axis of resistance."
During the civil war, Assad, with the help of his supporters, was behind the death of thousands of Palestinians from the refugee camps in Syria. Consequently, Hamas condemned the President's actions and even supported the fight against him on the part of the armed opponents, mainly from those who belong to the stream of the Muslim Brotherhood – the parent movement of Hamas (at least until 2017). What then are parties’ respective interests in renewing relations?
On the part of Hamas, the picture is clear enough: Hamas is isolated in most of the Arab world and therefore needs support from Assad, who strives to return and receive legitimacy for his regime from the Arab world at large. In addition, since Syria is an important actor in the axis of resistance, Hamas's integration in the axis is strengthened following the reconciliation. In its view, the move may boost its dominant position in the Palestinian struggle. In fact, this can be seen as part of the accelerated diplomacy evident in the region recently and a counter-reaction to the Abraham Accords with Israel – a reunification of the traditional axis of resistance.
Syria, for its part, launched a process of normalization with Arab countries when it renewed relations with the United Arab Emirates (in 2018), and Bahrain and Jordan (last year). What seemed quite promising at the time has proven to be rather faltering and lacking the ability to leverage it toward the additional achievements that it hoped for (mainly in view of the American pressure), such as a return to the Arab League, from which it was suspended. The renewal of relations with Hamas is a kind of consolation prize in this context and allows Syria to renew its position and image as an Arab country that supports the Palestinian issue. Another possibility is that Assad was pressured by Iran to advance the move. The main beneficiary of the move is Tehran, which expands and tightens the axis of resistance against Israel that it leads with determination.