Ramallah -

"Innocence"... This was the address posted on Facebook by a former minister in the first government to be formed by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in response to the movement's decision to restore its relationship with the Syrian regime.

Under this title, Issa al-Jabari - Minister of Local Government in the tenth government formed by Hamas after its victory in the legislative council elections in 2006 - wrote, "I absolve to God Almighty of what Hamas decided to restore its relationship with the criminal Syrian regime."

At the beginning of the statement of innocence, Al-Jabari indicated that his decision was “following the example of the chosen Prophet, peace be upon him, by disavowing the ugly act, not from the doer who has a lot of good.”

The topic killed a discussion

Al-Jabari's position was rejected by figures from within the Hamas movement, in a rare public dispute.

His colleague in the tenth government, Minister of Public Works and Housing, Abdel Rahman Zeidan, strongly opposed him and wrote that "the issue has been killed by discussion at all levels, and in the end it is diligence, and the leadership has the right to assess interests."

And he continued, "After the advice and the decision, we say: We listen and obey, and we do not continue to flip opinions, even if we are not convinced of the justifications."

Commenting on the "innocence" of Al-Jabari, Basem Zaarir, a member of the disbanded Legislative Council, wrote, "The printmakers and those who deny our cause, and those besieged by our resistance, left us no choice."

He continued, "Yes, there is a lump in the hearts, but the need and the interest push you to reconcile with a regime that you have no right to reconcile with."

Last Thursday, Hamas announced - in an official statement - the return of its relationship with the Syrian regime.

The movement affirmed its "continuity in building and developing solid relations" with the Syrian regime, "within the framework of its decision to resume its relationship with sisterly Syria in the service of our nation and its just causes, with the cause of Palestine at the heart of it."

The Hamas leadership decided to leave Damascus in February 2012, about a year after the start of the Syrian revolution in March 2011.

Muslim scholars on the issue of restoring relations with Hamas and Syria pic.twitter.com/qRdG6c7no9

— ᒪEEᑎ ᒍᖇ 🇵🇸 (@leen_ps) September 16, 2022

Since the movement announced the return of relations, controversy continues on social media platforms between supporters and opponents, both inside and outside the movement, Palestinians and Arabs.

Hassan Khreisheh, a member of the independent Legislative Council for two consecutive sessions in the parliament, defended the return of the relationship, considering it "the normal situation, because Syria is the center of the triangle for the resistance axis, and Palestine is the compass of the axis."

He saluted those who took the decision and encouraged it. Friends and allies are well-known, as are the enemies of our people and the printmakers are well-known.

Muhammad Abu Warda, Deputy Secretary and Vice President of the Student Council of the Islamic University of Gaza, defended the movement’s decision, saying on his Facebook account: “The return of relations with the Syrian regime does not mean that the movement is satisfied with its action, and does not at all reflect the movement’s support for the regime’s policy inside its territory or towards Section".

He added that "the restoration of relations is based on the interests of the Palestinians in the refugee camps there, and in preparation for the project of return and liberation."

As for the Jordanian writer, Yasser Al-Zaatara, he described - through his account on Twitter - the return of the relationship as "reflecting a flaw in the compass and in the assessment at the same time, as well as ignoring the feelings of the majority of the Palestinian people, including the sons of the movement."

I forgot to say that the above statement;

He confirmed what was previously announced regarding the return of the relationship with the sectarian minority regime in Syria.


An issue we talked about before, and it reflects a flaw in the compass and in estimation at the same time, in addition to ignoring the feelings of the majority of the Palestinian people;

Including the children of the movement.


Misery deserves a pause from the wise.

- Yasser Al-Zaatreh (@YZaatreh) September 15, 2022

narrow geography

With differing opinions about Hamas' move, it is justified, according to two political analysts who spoke to Al Jazeera Net, who also drew attention to repercussions for the movement and the region.

The director of research at the Masarat Center, Khalil Shaheen, believes that Hamas' announcement was not surprising, but was preceded by many forebodings and meetings, even with the Syrian regime and in the capital, Damascus.

He points to the efforts made by Iran, Hezbollah and Russia to restore the relationship, in a direction that reflects the broad desire of a large part of the leaders abroad and Gaza "despite the hesitation of the Syrian regime and the slowness in dealing with these attempts, as a result of the depth of the crisis in the past period."

As for the reasons for Hamas' return to Syria, Shaheen says that it is the geography that has begun to narrow more and more to the movement.

He added that "Hamas realizes that the area of ​​geography is narrowing, and that the land is being withdrawn from under its feet, and it has started looking to expand geography or at least diversify it."

It refers to the impact of transformations in the region in terms of deepening normalization relations on the one hand, and reconciliations within the framework of axes at the regional level on the other.

Shaheen points out that the narrowness of geography was accompanied by conditions regarding the presence of Hamas in some countries;

"This reduces the scope of Hamas' action, whether it is at the level of the presence of military leaders and supply elements, or the development of military capabilities in Gaza and Lebanon."

In addition to Syria, Shaheen does not rule out a similar development in the relationship with Jordan.

Here he sees another aspect, which is "the trend towards more pragmatism in the movement, which presents itself as a major player in the Palestinian arena, and perhaps at the level of the region."

He concluded that Hamas has realized the reconciliations that are taking place at the Arab and regional levels and that everyone has turned to the Syrian regime, and that if it does not take a step, it will remain behind everyone.

A reading of the convergences of the region

In turn, the director of the Yabous Center for Consultation and Strategic Studies in Ramallah, Suleiman Bisharat, does not see the possibility of reading the return of relations between Hamas and the Syrian regime in isolation from a group of recent rapprochements in the region.

He adds that "there are a number of factors that have encouraged and pushed towards this step, the first of which is Hamas' realization that it - as a national liberation movement - should keep the lines of communication extended with any option available to it, and openness to everyone, so as not to fall into a state of political isolation from its Arab and regional dimension."

Bisharat believes that Hamas "masters taking advantage of the window of political opportunities", and seeks to benefit from reinforcing the axis of resistance against the axis of normalization, considering that this coincides with its vision as a liberation movement.

The Palestinian researcher adds that the conditions that accompanied the exit of Hamas from Damascus and the movement of the Arab revolutions have now changed.

"Therefore, it is possible to re-evaluate the previous decision, based on expectations of developments for the future."

Bisharat points out that the transformation of Hamas in the past years into a political address for the Palestinian cause requires it to deal with an equation different from being a mere resistance organization, and this leads it to deal with the balance of political relations and their repercussions.

He added that Hamas' adherence to the option of armed resistance makes it need an incubating environment that other political systems do not provide, despite its reception by the movement's political leadership.

As for the beneficiary of the return of relations, Bisharat believes that "the profit and loss equation will not be accurate now."

He adds that it is too early to talk about the beneficiary, and about a complete and natural return to the relationship or existence, "Hamas can strengthen its political presence as a reference for the Palestinian cause more, in return, the Syrian regime can benefit from restoring confidence in it before the various political currents, and it may open the way for reconciliation." Internal Syria.