The past weeks have seen some political developments with potential direct or indirect impact on Hamas’s future position and possibilities/constraints in the region.
These developments include:
– The Arab League’s designation of Hizbollah as a terrorist organisation
– Egypt’s accusation of Hamas to be cooperating with the Salafi-Jihadis in the Sinai peninsula
– Egypt’s accusation of Hamas to have assisted in the murder of Egyptian public prosecutor Hisham Barakat
– First visit of a top level Hamas delegation to Cairo to meet with heads of Egyptian intelligence services (padoxically coinciding with the accusations above
– Egypt forces Hamas to (openly) break its ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in exchange for re-opening the Rafah crossing and stop flooding the tunnels
– New attempted reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas
– Claims by Fatah to be considering the possibility of re-taking control over the Gaza Strip by force (paradoxically coinciding with the reconciliation talks)
– Opening a floating seaport outside Gaza is on the agenda in the ongoing Turkish-Israeli reconciliation talks
– Resumed rocket fire from Gaza against Israel
– Increasing number of tunnels in Gaza are collapsing, leading to several dozens of fatalities
– Internal struggle for influence, Khaled Meshaal in Qatar is challenged by Yahiya Sinwar in Gaza
– Closing down of Iranian charities in Gaza by Hamas
– Political rapprochement between Israel and several Arab states including Saudi Arabia and UAE
Earlier this week, France24 aired a recently recorded interview with Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau in Doha. In this interview, Meshaal comments on several of the topics listed above.
Watch the whole interview here
Political leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal, France24, 15 March 2016.
Watch earlier interviews with Khaled Meshaal
Political leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal, TheNewArab, 26 August 2015.
Political leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal, BBC World News, 1 April 2015.
Political leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal, al-Jazeera English, 16 August 2014.
Political leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal (Part One), BBC HARDtalk, 8 February 2013.
Political leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal (Part Two), BBC HARDtalk, 8 February 2013.
Read more
‘Is Egypt the key to a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation?’, al-Monitor Palestine Pulse, 6 April 2016.
‘Hamas finds itself between a rock and a hard place’, al-Monitor Israel Pulse, 6 April 2016.
‘Why Iran wants Hamas to apologise’, al-Monitor Iran Pulse, 2 April 2016.
‘Why Hamas closed down Iranian charity in Gaza’, al-Monitor Palestine Pulse, 23 March 2016.
‘Hamas takes down Muslim Brotherhood signs in Gaza’, Asharq Al-Awsat English, 22 March 2016.
‘Inside Hamas, a bitter and personal battle for control’, Times of Israel, 19 March 2016.
‘Will Hamas lose Gaza?’, al-Monitor Palestine Pulse, 19 March 2016.
‘Hamas, Salafists try to move beyond bumpy history’, al-Monitor Palestine Pulse, 15 March 2016.