OPINION:
After falling out of favor with each other in 2012 over the use of Hamas during the Syrian civil war, Iran is once again the main benefactor of the terrorist group Hamas, based in the Gaza Strip in Israel.
“Relations with Iran are excellent and Iran is the largest supporter of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades with money and arms,” Yahya Sinwar, referring to Hamas’ armed wing, told reporters, reported Reuters. “The relationship today is developing and returning to what it was in the old days…This will be reflected in the resistance (against Israel) and in (Hamas’s) agenda to achieve the liberation,”
It seems the war of 2014 between Hamas in Gaza and Israel significantly degraded the group’s capabilities. “We are not interested in a war, we do not want war and we want to push it backward as much as we could so that our people will relax and take their breath and in the same time we are building our power,” he said. “We do not fear war and we are fully ready for it,” added Mr. Sinwar.
The renewed aid by Iran to Hamas likely includes financial support as well as weapons.
Israeli security is severely threatened by Iranian proxy militias in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. Hezbollah, which was used heavily as Iran’s ground force in the Syrian conflict, has stated regularly that once the shooting is over protecting the Assad regime in Syria, the terror army will once again focus its destructive efforts on the Jewish state.
For its part, Israel has been in negotiations with Russia, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frequently traveling to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to obtain the Kremlin’s help in reducing Iran’s influence in the region once the Syrian conflict is over.
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