Hamas Runs a Regional PR Campaign

Fatah’s Azam al-Ahmad (right) and Saleh al-Aruri of Hamas kiss after signing a reconciliation deal in Cairo on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Fatah’s Azam al-Ahmad (right) and Saleh al-Aruri of Hamas kiss after signing a reconciliation deal in Cairo on Thursday. Photo: AFP
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Hamas Runs a Regional PR Campaign

Fatah’s Azam al-Ahmad (right) and Saleh al-Aruri of Hamas kiss after signing a reconciliation deal in Cairo on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Fatah’s Azam al-Ahmad (right) and Saleh al-Aruri of Hamas kiss after signing a reconciliation deal in Cairo on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Gaza ruling party Hamas is steadily on the track of restoring its ties with former allies while maintaining current friends. The move by no means is risk-free, as conflict pits parties Hamas views as valuable against each other.

It is no secret that the Islamist movement, which lost allies and won others, is planning broader and better relations with Egypt. It looks forward to opening up as much as possible to Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. But it also strives to do the same with Qatar and Turkey, and to restore ties with Iran and Hezbollah, and perhaps the Syrian regime at a later date.

Officially, Hamas says it wants to maintain advanced relations with all Arabs in the region, as well as other countries, so long that it serves the best interest of the Palestinian cause.

Many Hamas officials, including Hamas Leader Khaled Meshaal, confirmed that this goes beyond playing along politics axes.

Hamas-affiliated writer and political analyst Ibrahim Madhoun said the movement will partially succeed in its endeavors.

"There are countries and people who understand the positions of the movement and there are other countries that are conservative, but this will not push Hamas to take a hostile stance or to back down,” said Madhoun.

“The movement will try to knock on these doors, and open areas with everyone in one way or another, especially central countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and Egypt, as they stand to be the real supporter of the Palestinian cause,” he added.

According to Madhoun, “Hamas’ response to Egyptian efforts was not at the expense of Turkey or Qatar or of any other party, and neither will contact with Tehran be at the expense of Riyadh or the Gulf.”

“I believe that talking to Russia does not mean antagonizing the United States, although the latter takes a negative attitude. There are efforts by Hamas to infiltrate the American wall itself.”

Contacts made by the head of Hamas' political bureau in the last two days, made it clear that Hamas actually tried to communicate with all sides openly as if it were sending out a message in every direction in this regard.



Coalition Bases in Northeast Syria on High Alert Amid Fears of Militia Attacks

US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
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Coalition Bases in Northeast Syria on High Alert Amid Fears of Militia Attacks

US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.

US-led coalition forces in northeastern Syria were placed on high alert Friday following Israel’s military strikes against Iran, amid concerns that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq may retaliate with cross-border attacks.

Military sources reported that coalition bases in al-Hasakah province raised their alert level. Coalition aircraft conducted aerial patrols over the bases and along the Syrian-Iraqi border, anticipating potential attacks from factions aligned with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The precautionary measures come on the heels of Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion,” which targeted senior IRGC figures in Tehran in what Israeli officials described as a preemptive strike. In response, the Iraqi militia Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada warned it could dispatch dozens of suicide bombers to strike US interests if the conflict escalates.

Witnesses in northeastern Syria reported heavy aerial activity over al-Malikiyah and toward the Simelka-Faysh Khabur border crossing with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region early Friday. Troop movements were also observed within coalition bases.

According to local sources, over 100 trucks crossed from Iraq into Syria Thursday night via the al-Waleed border crossing. The convoy reportedly delivered military equipment, vehicles, weapons, fuel, and supplies to coalition bases in Kharab al-Jir, the Rmelan oil field, Kasrak (on the Qamishli-Tel Tamr road), and al-Shaddadi in southern Hasakah.

The heightened readiness follows a recent US decision to reduce its military presence in Syria, including the closure of three coalition facilities in Deir Ezzor province, among them the al-Omar oil field and the Conoco gas plant.

Despite the drawdown, sources say the coalition continues to receive weekly resupply shipments from its bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, maintaining its operations against ISIS cells and sustaining patrols in the region.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a joint operation with coalition forces targeting a suspected ISIS sleeper cell in the town of al-Mansoura, west of Raqqa. Three suspects were arrested, including two senior figures allegedly involved in bomb-making operations. A full curfew was imposed on the area during the raid.

The SDF confirmed it seized weapons, explosive devices, and documents, and vowed to continue its counterterrorism efforts in partnership with the international coalition.