WATERLOO – On Thursday, the United States issued a strong warning against any rapprochement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, claiming that his reconciliation with the Palestinian Hamas movement is evidence of his “isolation.”
In an effort to “turn the page” on the past after the movement had cut ties with Damascus for ten years, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hosted a delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Wednesday.
According to US State Department spokesman Ned Price, “the Assad regime’s engagement with this terrorist organisation proves to us its isolation.”
The interests of the Palestinian people are harmed, and international efforts to combat terrorism at home and abroad are undermined, he continued.
“We will continue to oppose any backing for the restoration of the Assad regime, particularly from terrorist groups like Hamas,” he concluded.
“Hamas, which has long governed the Gaza Strip alongside Syria, previously distanced itself from it in 2012 and criticised the crackdown on rallies.
The fact that Hamas and Hezbollah’s relations have improved thanks to Iranian mediation also plays a role in Damascus’ visit.
Leaders of Hamas declared their support for the 2011 uprisings against Assad’s authority and left their headquarters in Damascus in 2012, angering their fellow ally Iran.
Restoring Assad’s links would allow Hamas to rejoin the so-called “Axis of the Resistance” against Israel, which also consists of Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad’s sectarian allies.
The visit is intended to close all of the books on the past, according to Khalil al-Hayya, the leader of the tiny team that met with Assad in Damascus.
“In this meeting, which we consider a historic meeting and a new start for the joint Palestinian-Syrian activity,” he continued during a news conference. In light of Syria’s custody of the Palestinian people, he continued, “Syria is something we are proud of.
“We fold any impressive page here and there in the past, that is, an individual act here and there, it is a wrong act that the movement’s leadership is not approved and the leadership of the movement will not approve.
We support the President’s right to exercise his independence by looking to the future rather than the past.
He noted that a number of circumstances, including Israel’s growing contacts with Arab nations, promoted the current rapprochement.
Hamas and Iran have already repaired their ties, and the movement in the Islamic Republic was applauded for its assistance in providing Gaza with the rockets it needed to attack Israel.
However, given that the bulk of those hurt by Assad’s atrocities in Syria were Sunnis, it dragged down the reconciliation with Syria out of concern for a violent response from its financiers, the majority of whom are Sunnis, and other supporters.
Washington cautions against any Assad normalisation and denounces his support for Hamas.
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