Foreign relations of Hamas

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Hamas, the entity who as of 2023 had been the governing authority of the Gaza Strip, has foreign relations that spans various countries around the world. As of 2023, Mousa Abu Marzook is the group's head of international relations office.[1]

Africa

Egypt

Egypt under Mohamed Morsi who was in power from 2011 to 2013, supported Hamas.[2]

South Africa

See also: Palestine–South Africa relations

Hamas sent an official delegation to South Africa for the 10th anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela, joining African National Congress minister Lindiwe Zulu at a wreath-laying event on 5 December 2023.[3]

Sudan

Sudan under President Omar al-Bashir was a major supporter and provided Hamas its rockets.[4]

Americas

Cuba

Cuba allegedly provides intelligence support to Hamas.[5][6][7]

Venezuela

The relations between Venezuela and Hamas have become more close under the presidencies of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, due to the common opposition to the US.[8][9]

Asia

China

Lebanon

This section is an excerpt from Hamas in Lebanon.[edit]
Osama Hamdan, the top representative of Hamas in Lebanon

The Hamas organization has a permanent and established presence in Lebanon.[10][11] The presence gained prominence following the announcement of the formation of the Al-Aqsa Flood Vanguards unit by Hamas in Beirut in 2023.[12]

According to Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Leader Gebran Bassil, Hamas's establishment in Lebanon raised concerns about Lebanon's sovereignty and stability.[13][14][15]

Iran

Main article: Iranian support for Hamas
This section is an excerpt from Iranian support for Hamas.[edit]
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2012.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a key patron of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2006. Iran provides Hamas with funds, weapons, and training.[16][17][18]

According to a 2020 U.S. State Department report, Iran provides about $100 million annually to Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas.[19] As of 2023, according to an Israeli security source, Iran had significantly increased its funding for Hamas to $350 million a year.[20]

Israel

Islamists appeared to be more interested in studying the Quran than fighting Israel when Israel first came into contact with them in Gaza in the 1970s and 1980s. Mujama al-Islamiya, a forerunner of Hamas, was recognized by the Israeli authorities and registered as a charity. Members of the Mujama were able to establish an Islamic university as well as mosques, clubs, and schools. Importantly, Israel frequently took a back seat to the Islamists' sometimes deadly power struggles with their secular, left-wing Palestinian counterparts in Gaza and the West Bank. David Hacham, an Israeli military Arab relations specialist who operated in Gaza in the late 1980s and early 1990s, says, "When I look back at the chain of events, I think we made a mistake." However, none at the time considered the outcomes that might occur." On the extent to which their own actions may have helped to Hamas's rise, Israeli officials who served in Gaza disagree. They attribute the recent growth of the group to outside forces, mainly Iran. The Israeli government holds the same opinion.[21][22]

Malaysia

Qatar

Main article: Qatari support for Hamas
This section is an excerpt from Qatari support for Hamas.[edit]

Qatar has been a key financial supporter of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, transferring more than $1.8 billion to Hamas over the years.[23][24] In consultation with the U.S. and Israeli governments, $30 million were transferred monthly to Hamas, according to a Qatari official interviewed by Der Spiegel in 2023.[25]

The United States requested in 2011 that Qatar provide a base for the Hamas leadership to ease communications with the group.[25] From 2012, Qatar hosted the Hamas party leadership when Hamas head Khaled Meshal relocated from Syria to Qatar.[26] The current head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has resided in Doha since 2016.[27] Qatar has been called Hamas' most important financial backer and foreign ally.[28][29]

From 2018 to 2023, Israel's government enabled and approved of the Qatari support for Hamas for political reasons.[30]

Saudi Arabia

Syria

The Syrian Arab Republic was a staunch supporter of Hamas until 2011 with the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. In January 2012, Hamas sided with the Syrian rebels against the government Bashar al-Assad.[31] Since 2022, relations have been restored and the support was renewed.[32] Since 2022, Hamas is again part of the regional Axis of Resistance.[33][34]

Turkey

Main article: Turkish support for Hamas
This section is an excerpt from Turkish support for Hamas.[edit]
Ismail Haniyeh with Turkish Minister of Culture Numan Kurtulmuş, 20 November 2012

Under the Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has become a stalwart supporter of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.[35][36]

Turkey provides financial and logistical support to Hamas, which is a considered a terrorist organization by much of the West. Turkey hosts senior Hamas officials, including Saleh al-Arouri. Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh and former chief Khaled Meshal visit Turkey often.[37][38][39]

According to Israel's Shin Bet, Hamas has established a command post in Turkey. which it uses to recruit operatives and oversee operations in the Middle East.[40] Hamas' Turkey branch reportedly takes decisions without taking into account the movement as a whole and without involving the Hamas leadership.[41][42] Hamas has reportedly planned attacks against Israel from Turkey, including the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in 2014.[43] In 2020 Israeli diplomats charged Turkey with furnishing passports and identity cards to Hamas members in Istanbul.[44]

The Turkish government met with Hamas leaders in February 2006, after the organization's victory in the Palestinian elections. In 2010, Prime Minister Erdoğan described Hamas as "resistance fighters who are struggling to defend their land".[45][46]

Europe

Russia

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at a meeting with Russian officials in Moscow in 2022
Main article: Russia–Hamas relations
This section is an excerpt from Russia–Hamas relations.[edit]
Russia has diplomatic relations with the political wing of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organization which rules the Gaza Strip. Russia has not designated Hamas as a terrorist organization,[47] though it has condemned Hamas attacks as "terrorism" and has taken a hard line against Islamist terrorism. Russia has also maintained relations with Israel.

References

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  2. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (July 26, 2013). "Egyptian army questions Mohamed Morsi over alleged Hamas terror links". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "South Africa's support for the Palestinian cause has deep roots". The Economist. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Abdelaziz, Khalid; Eltahir, Nafisa; Irish, John (September 23, 2021). "Sudan closes door on support for Hamas". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "Cuba's dictatorship has a serious problem with Jews". 25 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Cuba and Iran Are Still State Sponsors of Terrorism". 22 December 2023.
  7. ^ https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article282961503.html
  8. ^ "Venezuela ready to receive Hamas".
  9. ^ "Maduro ally linked to Hezbollah and Hamas charged with narco-terrorism in New York". ABC News.
  10. ^ "With support of Iran and Hezbollah, experts believe Hamas well established in Lebanon". The Times of Israel.
  11. ^ "Christians oppose Hamas recruitment in Lebanese refugee camps". www.janglo.net. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
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  13. ^ "Analyse. Le Liban va-t-il se transformer en "Hamasland" ?". Courrier international (in French). 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  14. ^ "Al-Aqsa Flood Vanguards unit: 'Hamasland' in south Lebanon?". today.lorientlejour.com.
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  18. ^ Srivastava, Mehul; Zilber, Neri; Jalabi, Raya (2023-10-09). "What links Hamas to the 'Axis of Resistance' and its patron Iran?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
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  22. ^ Higgins, Andrew (January 24, 2009). "How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2023. When Israel first encountered Islamists in Gaza in the 1970s and '80s, they seemed focused on studying the Quran, not on confrontation with Israel. The Israeli government officially recognized a precursor to Hamas called Mujama Al-Islamiya, registering the group as a charity. It allowed Mujama members to set up an Islamic university and build mosques, clubs and schools. Crucially, Israel often stood aside when the Islamists and their secular left-wing Palestinian rivals battled, sometimes violently, for influence in both Gaza and the West Bank. "When I look back at the chain of events I think we made a mistake," says David Hacham, who worked in Gaza in the late 1980s and early '90s as an Arab-affairs expert in the Israeli military. "But at the time nobody thought about the possible results." Israeli officials who served in Gaza disagree on how much their own actions may have contributed to the rise of Hamas. They blame the group's recent ascent on outsiders, primarily Iran. This view is shared by the Israeli government. "Hamas in Gaza was built by Iran as a foundation for power, and is backed through funding, through training and through the provision of advanced weapons," Mr. Olmert said last Saturday. Hamas has denied receiving military assistance from Iran.
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  31. ^ Mohammed Ayoob, Will the Middle East Implode?, John Wiley & Sons, 2014 p. 47.
  32. ^ Hussein Abou Saleh (2 November 2023). "Iran's 'axis of resistance': how Hamas and Tehran are attempting to galvanise their allies against Israel". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  33. ^ Dihasha, Najiya (2023-10-12). "قيادي في حماس للجزيرة نت: المقاومة من جنوب لبنان لمنع الاستفراد بغزة". Al Jazeera Arabic (in Arabic). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
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  43. ^ Franzman, Seth T. (9 May 2021). "Turkey calls Israel 'terrorist' state, seeks to 'save Jerusalem' - analysis". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
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  47. ^ "Why Russia and Hamas Are Growing Closer". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 25 October 2023.
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