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Remember that politics move quickly, and people and their opinions evolve.
Has Hamas Left Iran’s Orbit?
December 20, 2011 · Mustapha Hamoui
- Lose the gun son -
A few weeks ago the US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said the following: “Iran is basically down to just two principal remaining allies — the Assad clique in Syria and Hezbollah”
It was telling that Hamas was not on that list. There was talk at the time that Hamas has left the Mullahs and was now in the orbit of influence of post-revolutionary Egypt. Today we are starting to witness some of the repercussions of that break, as we are hearing noises about Hamas potentially letting go of armed resistance altogether and switching to non-violent resistance against Israel.
If this is true, it’s huge for two reasons:
- It would be the first time an Arab resistance group willfully abandons violence because it believes that non violence is a more effective way to restore rights. That should be attributed to the success of the revolutions in places like Tunisia.
- It would deprive the Hezbollah-Assad-Iran axis of the only Sunni ally they had, which served as very important PR talking point whenever they were accused of being a “Shiaa Crescent”.
If Hamas is indeed renouncing violence, Israel would be crazy if it did not reward this switch in a meaningful way, by making tangible concessions towards peace with Palestine. If the Hebrew state wanted to send the message that violence doesn’t pay, this would be the best opportunity to do so.
Update: Read Hussein Ibish’s more subtle and informed take on Hamas’ realignment