Al Monitor | Ali Hashem: The head of the Hamas delegation, Saleh Arouri, attends a reconciliation deal signing ceremony, Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 12, 2017.








Just a week after Hamas agreed to reconcile with rival Palestinian faction Fatah and curb its relationship with Hezbollah — an agreement seen by many as a first step necessary to negotiate peace with Israel — Hamas' No. 2 leader traveled to Tehran to reinforce his group's solidarity with Iran and the anti-Israel "axis of resistance."


The Oct. 19 visit of a Hamas delegation led by Saleh Arouri to Tehran wasn’t just another visit representing the Palestinian movement, but rather marked a milestone in the relationship that has been revived in the past few months. It was an obvious declaration by the movement and its old-new allies in the Iran-led resistance axis that a new path is being drawn, and a new strategy for confrontation is being set.

It was the second trip to Tehran in a few months by Arouri, known to be the mastermind of Hamas’ military operations in the West Bank. An official source from Hamas told Al-Monitor that on the delegation’s final night in the Iranian capital, it met with Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who stressed that “Iran’s support to the resistance is the main priority now.” Quds Force is part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Arouri also met Nov. 1 with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon to discuss the latest developments. "Both parties stressed the intersection between resistance movements and solidarity against the Zionist aggressions and all that is being plotted against the resistance movements in the region," a media statement said. In other words, Hamas and Hezbollah, under the new Hamas leadership, are becoming closer than before. This also confirms reports that Arouri, who was asked by Qatari authorities months before to leave Qatar, was now based in Beirut.

 



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