Hamas Revives Ties with Syria

The Palestinian Hamas movement that rules Gaza is reviving relations with the Iran-backed regime in Damascus after a decade-long rupture sparked by the outbreak of Syria's bloody war.

Analysts say the shift pushes Hamas deeper into the fold of the Iran-led "axis of resistance" against Israel that includes Syria as well as Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and Yemen's Houthi militias.

Hamas' move comes amid fundamental changes in Middle East relationships that saw the movement's long-time ally Türkiye restore full diplomatic ties in August with Israel, the Gaza group's arch-enemy.

A delegation led by Hamas officials is expected in the Syrian capital next week, following a series of preparatory meetings.

Hamas sees itself as leading the armed resistance against Israel and its blockade of Gaza, but it is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union.

The group last month hailed its newly warming ties with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad as "a service to the (Palestinian) nation" whose people also live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

Hamas cited the "rapid regional and international developments surrounding our cause and our nation" -- without directly referring to Israel's restored ties with Türkiye and relations with several Arab nations.

The shift comes as Syria's ally Iran, now hit by a wave of protests, is sharply at odds with Western and some regional powers, especially over its nuclear program, which Israel sees as an existential threat.

‘Resistance axis’

The leadership of Hamas, which has ruled the poverty-stricken enclave of Gaza since 2007, has long been based abroad as Israel's military has repeatedly struck militant targets in the territory.

Hamas had its headquarters in Damascus but closed them in 2012 after the group, which emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood movement, sided with the opposition against Assad.

Its leaders then moved to the Gulf state of Qatar and to Türkiye, which had cut ties with Israel over a deadly Israeli commando raid on a Turkish aid ship that had tried to breach the Gaza sea blockade.

The Hamas delegation expected in Damascus next week is to be headed by Khalil al-Hayya, its head of Arab relations, said Khaled Abdel Majid, head of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, a group close to the Syrian regime.

Hamas' decision to ally again with Damascus follows numerous visits by its officials to Syria, both "secret and public", a senior Hamas source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Those meetings were mediated by Iran and Hezbollah, which have both fought on Assad's side in the war, the source said.

All this reflects Iran's wish to bolster the "axis of resistance" which also includes Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, said Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a political science professor at Gaza's Al-Azhar University.

As Iran's talks to restore its frayed 2015 nuclear deal with major powers have faltered, it has turned closer to Russia, which is also facing deepening international isolation over its war in Ukraine.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, based in Qatar, last month travelled to Moscow and met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

As the group returns to Syria, the senior Hamas source told AFP, it plans to "open a representative office in Damascus soon, as a first step towards the return of normal relations".

The former political chief of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, once enjoyed rare privileges in Damascus and had a personal relationship with Assad.

Wary Hamas

However, it remains unlikely the Syrian regime will allow Hamas to rebuild a foothold that has "the weight it had a decade ago", said Jamal al-Fadi, also a politics professor at Al-Azhar.

The Hamas leadership may also be wary of spending too much time in Syria, given that Israel regularly launches air strikes on the country, mainly targeting pro-Iranian fighters.

"Hamas' relationship with Syria at the moment will be subject to difficult security considerations," said Fadi. "It exposes its leaders and its activists to the dangers of being easily targeted by Israel."

The budding Hamas-Syrian ties have exposed rifts within the movement.

Saleh al-Naami, a politics professor at the Islamic University of Gaza who is close to Hamas, described the deal with Damascus as a "moral sin".

"It also does not reflect the base of the movement and of the vast majority of its (political) elite," he wrote on Twitter.

However, the head of Hamas' political committee, Bassem Naim, said the decision followed years of regional and international discussions.

"In the end, Hamas went with the majority opinion on the resumption of the relationship with Syria," said Naim. "There is no choice but for Hamas to be at the center of the resistance axis."

Eid al-Fitr in Syria was charged with newfound joy this year, as thousands freely celebrated the holiday for the first time after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

From the early morning hours, crowds of men, women and children flocked to pray at Damascus's historic Umayyad Mosque in the Old City.

"This is the first time we truly feel the joy of Eid, after getting rid of Assad's tyrannical regime," Fatima Othman told AFP.

Following prayer, worshippers exchanged Eid greetings while street vendors sold colorful balloons and toys to children posing for photos with their parents.

"Our celebration is doubled after Assad's fall," said Ghassan Youssef, a resident of the capital.

A few kilometers (miles) away, on the slopes of Mount Qasyun overlooking Damascus -- a site previously off-limits to Syrians until Assad was deposed on December 8 -- a few thousand people gathered at Unknown Soldier Square for an open-air prayer.

Among them were members of the security forces and the army, dressed in uniform and armed. The road leading to the square was packed, according to an AFP photographer.

Some worshippers distributed sweets to celebrate, while the three-star Syrian flag, adopted by the new authorities, waved in the air.

Under the previous government, access to the Unknown Soldier monument was typically restricted to Assad and his close associates, who would lay wreaths there during national ceremonies.

'Celebration of celebrations!'
The memorial, where a giant screen broadcast the Eid prayer, is near the presidential palace.

There, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa prayed alongside Syria's new mufti Osama al-Rifai and several cabinet ministers in the presence of a large crowd.

He later delivered a speech emphasizing the country faced "a long and arduous road to reconstruction but possesses all the resources needed to recover".

This came two days after the formation of a new government, which faces daunting challenges in a country devastated by 14 years of civil war.

Wael Hamamiya, who had been in Sweden since the early days of the conflict, returned to Damascus to celebrate Eid with his family.

"This is my first Eid here in nearly 15 years. I truly feel the celebration in its full meaning," he told AFP, beaming.

"Everyone who has come is over the moon. This is the celebration of celebrations!"

The occasion was more somber for some Syrians, who were able to visit the graves of loved ones that had been off-limits during Assad reign, especially in former opposition strongholds.

At al-Rawda Cafe in Damascus, 36-year-old Amer Hallaq chatted with friends after returning from exile in Berlin where he ended up after dodging compulsory military service in 2014.

"For years, I thought I'd never see my family again or celebrate Eid with them," Hallaq said.

"The joy of liberation and victory is immense, but there's still a lot of work ahead. This is only the beginning of the road."

Hamas Revives Ties with Syria