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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Hamas has already unofficially quit Syria | |
| 2012-01-27 | |
| From Reuters: The leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has effectively abandoned his headquarters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, diplomatic and intelligence sources said on Friday. "Meshaal is not staying in Syria as he used to do. He is almost out all the time," said a diplomat in the region who spoke on condition on anonymity. A regional intelligence source, who also did not wish to be identified, said: "He's not going back to Syria. That's the decision he's made. There's still a Hamas presence there, but it's insignificant." The sources said Meshaal would not publicly shut down the political headquarters of Hamas in Syria, where it has long been hosted by Assad and by his father before him. "In the past month he may have only stayed five days in Syria and the rest he spent in Qatar, Turkey and Egypt," said the diplomat. "But he did not close the headquarters in Syria in full and there are some Hamas officials still there." "Our belief is that Hamas will not announce a departure from Syria even if it happened," the diplomat added. The sources said Meshaal was currently in Egypt. But "there was no agreement to open an office in Cairo. Not yet," said the diplomat. "The expected residence for Meshaal is Qatar where he may stay most of the time until the Syria smoke has cleared." A YNet op-ed says that Hamas is in trouble, losing funding from Iran and its headquarters in Damascus. But another Yediot article in Hebrew, quoted in Arabic sources, says that Turkey has agreed to give Hamas some $300 million annually.
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| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 Why would non-Arabic Turkey want an unofficial war with Israel? Erdogan and his Islamicists hate Israel for existing, Mike, but the Turkish army worked happily with Israel for an awfully long time. Even though many of the senior officers are arrested, jailed, or resigned in protest in the past year or two, the army isn't going to fight Israel...and isn't likely at this stage to be able to win if it were stupid enough to try. The alternative, given the Gaza flotilla effort was embarrassingly unsuccessful as an act of war as well as in turning the world solidly against Israel, is to go with the fighters on the ground. Of course, that inexpert opinion is worth exactly what you just paid for it. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-01-27 23:10 |
| #2 Turkey's looking to buy influence. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-01-27 16:57 |
| #1 Why would non-Arabic Turkey want an unofficial war with Israel? Why the falling out? Are the Hez-bullies trying to knock off a rival? |
| Posted by: Mike Ramsey 2012-01-27 13:24 |