From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 9, 2024
Hamas, Islamic Jihad congratulate Syrians on achieving ‘freedom and justice’ by toppling Assad
Hamas congratulates the Syrian people for achieving their “aspirations for freedom and justice,” after toppling President Bashar al-Assad, in the Palestinian terror group’s first public comment since rebel forces swept into the Syrian capital Damascus yesterday.
“We stand strongly with the great people of Syria… and respect the will, the independence, and the political choices of the people of Syria,” the Iran-backed group says in a statement.
Hamas also says it hopes that post-Assad Syria will continue “its historical and pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian people.”
In a separate statement, Ziad al-Nakhala, head of the Islamic Jihad, echoes that sentiment, saying that the Iranian-backed group and ally of Hamas “hopes Syria will remain a real support for the Palestinian people, their just cause, as it has always been.”
Hamas publicly endorsed the 2011 Sunni Muslim street uprising against Assad’s rule and vacated its Damascus headquarters in 2012, a move that angered Iran, an ally of both Assad and the Palestinian terror group.
Hamas, whose ideological roots stem from the Sunni Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, distanced itself from Assad — a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam — as he cracked down on the mainly Sunni Muslim protesters and rebels.
The Palestinian terror group decided in 2022 to restore ties with the Assad government and sent a delegation to Damascus, where Hamas leaders met Assad in the hope of repairing relations.
Assad’s Syria and Iran formed an “axis of resistance” with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and Palestinian terror groups to oppose Israel.
Hamas’s positive response to the fall of Assad contrasted with that of Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah, which played a major part in propping up Assad through years of war. Assad’s Syria long served as a vital conduit for Iran to supply arms to the group.
