“’Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.’ With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you — the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites ….” (Psalm 83:4–6)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari affirmed earlier this February that it is state policy in Iran to support Hamas activity against Israel.
Last week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said that supporting “Palestinian resistance movements” is part of Iran’s foreign policy.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported last week that since the 1979 change to the Islamic regime, Tehran has had a fixed policy of backing Hamas and other actors of “Palestinian resistance.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has declared that supporting the Palestinian nation and the Palestinian Resistance Movement is among its fixed policies and has continuously taken some measures on this path,” the Iranian spokesman said.
This past Wednesday, a Hamas delegation headed by Abu Omar Nasser visited Iran to mark the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with plans to talk with various senior officials in Iran.
According to the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh, Hamas and Iran differ on the Syrian civil war, which has created tension between the two entities.
Because Hamas has refused to back Syrian President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war, “Iran has reportedly suspended financial and military aid to Hamas,” Abu Toameh writes.
Hamas soldiers
Hamas official Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook recently claimed in a leaked phone call that Iran’s stated support of Hamas, especially since 2009, are “lies” and that Iran also lied about sending warships to the waters outside of the Gaza Strip.
However, Senior Hamas official Kahlil Abu Leila rejected these allegations.
“I believe the relations between Iran and Hamas are good and getting back to the previous track,” Abu Leila told the media. “We appreciate Iran for the support it has provided for the resistance.”
According to Tasnim News Agency, Abu Leila “underlined” that “the liberation of the holy Quds (Jerusalem) and the Palestinian nation (in reference to the Land of Israel) is deeply rooted in all Arab and Islamic countries.
A top diplomatic source from Hamas told Aaron Klein and Ali Waked of Breitbart Jerusalem earlier this month that Iran’s financial support for the military wing of Hamas “has been unhindered” and was not in any way affected by the Iranian nuclear deal’s sanctions.
“The Islamic Republic resumed financial support for the military wing months ago,” the source told Breitbart, noting that a grant from the Iranian government has expedited the restoration of the tunnel system being built to infiltrate and attack Israel.
“The military wing has ensured the preparedness of our tunnels some time ahead of schedule,” the Hamas source said.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon walks through a Hamas terror tunnel leading from Gaza into Israel. (Photo: Israel Defense Forces)
In June 2014, Hamas militants used a terror tunnel to squirrel 150 meters (500 feet) into Israel, emerging near Nahal Oz to strike an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) watchtower with an anti-tank missile. The strike killed five soldiers. (Times of Israel)
Others in the tower returned fire, killing a terrorist who was attempting to steal the body of a fallen soldier.
All five soldiers killed had been enrolled in a commanders’ training course: 21-year-old Sergeant Barkai Yishai Shor and 18-year-old Sergeant Dor Dery from Jerusalem; 18-year-old Sergeant Daniel Kedmi from Tzofim; 19-year-old Sergeant Sagi Erez from Kiryat Ata; and 19-year-old Sergeant Nadav Raimond from Shadmot Dvora. (JPost)
