Alwaght- With the start of the Islamic awakening wave that saw uprisings sweeping through much of the Arab world, the US, along with the Arab regimes, tried to apply the same conditions on Syria using the opposition and went to great lengths to topple President Bashar al-Assad in a bid to take Syria out of anti-imperialist Axis of Resistance in the region.
At that time, some of the political leaders of the Hamas movement who were influenced by the strong propaganda of the Arabs and especially the pro-Muslim Brotherhood of Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, and despite the fact that they did not share a view on how to face the Syrian crisis, finally cut off their relations with Damascus. But with the passage of time, they realized their mistakes and after learning about the secret intentions of the US and its allies in the region, they figured out that they were played, and in the middle of the crisis, separated their ways from the supporters of the terrorists, and now after a decade, they have decided to normalize with Damascus. After several years of announcing the readiness to restore ties with the Syrian government, Hamas leaders finally met President al-Assad in Damascus.
Khalil al-Hiyya, a top member of Hamas, commented on the meeting between the Palestinian groups and al-Assad, saying that it was a “glorious day and we will resume our presence in Syria and cooperation with it for the stability of Syria from today.... the same Syria we are proud of and has hosted the Palestinian nation and its leaders.” The Hamas official added that the Syrian leader was determined to continue support to the Palestinian resistance and nation, and emphasized that Syria has been and will be a backer to the Palestinian nation.
Hamas leaders further said that the meeting in the center of Syria was a natural response to the Israeli and American projects in Syria and the region.
“Syria is the fort of the Resistance and with its help, we foil all of the Israeli occupation plots,” said al-Hayya.
Al-Assad, on the other side, said that the Palestinian unity is a guarantee to retaking the Palestinian rights. He reiterated his country's support to the Palestinian nation in the face of the enemies, adding that ”resistance is the only way to Palestine liberation.”
Hamas rapprochement to Damascus comes as in February 2012, namely a month after Syrian crisis eruption, shut down its offices in Syria and removed its members from Damascus. The Palestinians’ visit to Damascus came just a week after all Palestinian groups met for the first time in years in Algeria and signed a peace and reconciliation agreement. The inter-Palestinian agreement and the normalization of relations with Syria are two important victories for the Gaza-based resistance and will strengthen the positions of these groups against their Israeli enemy.
Hamas re-embraces constant support
Hamas cut its ties with Syria a decade ago while Damascus leaders had stood beside the Palestinian nation for a long time and paid a high price for their support to the Palestinians in the face of the Israeli regime. The Syrian government has always been one of the main supporters of Palestinian groups against the Israeli regime and provided comprehensive support to them. Since the establishment of the Israeli regime nearly eight decades ago, Syria has supported the Palestinian refugees who lost their homes as a result of this occupation and resettled thousands of Palestinians in its territory. Even in the four Arab wars with the Israelis, Syria played a leading role and tried to recapture the occupied lands to the Palestinians, and this policy has been in place since 1948 and there has been no disruption in Damascus's approach to defending the Palestinian cause. Even when they had no relations, Damascus maintained its resolute support for Gaza, including in the 2021 Operation Sword of Al-Quds launched by Hamas in response to the Israeli atrocities in Al-Quds.
Opening new page in Palestinian-Resistance camp relations
The normalization of Palestinian relations with Syria in the current situation can be brought in spotlight from a set of dimensions. Having in mind that the Syrian government is currently in a superior military position because of its recapture of many areas held for years by terrorists and is relieved to some extent from the internal crisis, it can play an important role in the Axis of Resistance. Before the crisis, Syria was the biggest enemy of Tel Aviv on the frontline, and therefore, the improvement of Hamas' relations with the Syrian government can strengthen the Resistance front against the Israelis.
In the past decade, the Israeli regime took advantage of the gap between Hamas and Damascus and was able to protect its security to some extent by involving the resistance branches in some crises, but now the conditions have changed and the Resistance camp’s branches are at the highest level of capability as they ramp up their cooperation. With each other's assistance, they have tightened the noose against their Israeli enemy. Since the situation in the West Bank is exploding due to the frequent Israeli raids and according to the Israeli officials an intifada is likely at any moment, strengthening the relations between the Gaza-based groups and the Syrian government can force Tel Aviv to retreat. In case of a conflict in the occupied territories, this time the Resistance camp will act at full tilt, and this will create a bad situation for the Israelis as they will come under attacks from all fronts.
Syria shares borders with the occupied Palestinian territories and if a war breaks out, Damascus can provide the Palestinians with military and logistic support. Also, with the activation of the occupied Golan front, Syria will be connected to the West Bank. If the resistance in the West Bank— which in recent months has been the main growth ground of anti-Israeli armed groups— is strengthened, the pressures on Tel Aviv will mount and push it in a security cordon. At present, the West Bank is slaughterhouse of the Israeli forces and if an armed intifada erupts, the Palestinians can force the occupiers out of their lands forever. Given the weakness the Israeli enemy is suffering from and also given the international changes that bar the West from backing Tel Aviv as effective as before, the Palestinians have a great opportunity to deal working blows to the Israelis.
Resumption of relations is a great achievement for the Syrian government, too. Over the past years, Syria came under Israeli airstrikes hundreds of times and the Syrian leaders can now retaliate with supporting Hamas. After all, the stronger Gaza and the West Bank, the more Israeli focus on the threats posed by them and consequent distraction from Syria.
Involving Israel within its own borders allows Syria to address its home affairs more comfortably and at the same time rebuild its defense capabilities, as the Syrian military is already in its highest level of readiness and a fortnight ago staged large-scale military drills in a warning message to the Israelis, telling them that today's Syria is not the crisis-stricken Syria of the past decade and it is now ready to defend its territorial integrity.
Hamas has now concluded that Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah will not abandon support to the Palestinian nation even at the most critical times and continue their support without any expectations. That is why its leaders are preferring alliance with the three sides to closeness to the compromising Arab rulers. This Hamas return carries a warning to the Arab sheikhdoms, telling them that if they further embrace Israel, they will be subjected to the resistance groups’ ire. While Tel Aviv is normalizing with the Arab sheikhdoms in search of alliance against the Palestinians, the rapprochement of the Palestinian resistance with Syria improves its Palestinian position, especially Hamas.
Since Israel built an influence in the Arabian Peninsula after normalizing relations with the Persian Gulf sheikhdoms, the strengthening of relations between Hamas and other branches of the Resistance camp will raise the costs of Tel Aviv. As a result, the Israelis will lose their sense of immunity because in every corner of West Asia, they will feel the shadow of Resistance camp over them.
Until last decade, Israel felt a threat only from Iran-Syria-Hezbollah triangle but now the Axis of Resistance has grown larger and covers the whole region as new Iraqi, Yemeni, and Palestinian groups have come to existence, making a hexagonal axis. Each of these groups now can face off Israel independently and conclude a confrontation to their advantage. For example, Yemen's Ansarullah Movement, which over the past eight years countered the Saudi-led Arab coalition in a largely unequal war, is now so capable militarily that it is grabbing the calm from Tel Aviv leaders’ eyes. Ansarullah leaders have several times warned that if the Israelis continue their involvement in southern Yemen, they will target the occupied territories with their missiles.
As a conclusion, the boost to the Axis of Resistance’s power from Palestine to Yemen makes the Israelis take into consideration all the aspects and calculate well before taking any action, as from now on, the confrontation will not be limited to the Palestinians and missiles will rain down on them from all fronts.
