GAZA – Stunned by turmoil in neighboring Egypt and starved of funds, the Palestinian group Hamas is looking to repair damaged ties with its traditional Middle East allies, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah party. An off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas celebrated when Mohamed Morsi was elected president of Egypt in 2012, believing the vote would boost its own international standing and its grip on the isolated Gaza Strip. In the meantime, outraged by the bloody civil war in Syria, the Palestinian group quit its headquarters in Damascus, snapping the Iran-led “axis of resistance” that challenged Israel and the West across the turbulent region. Iran, which had for years supplied Hamas with cash and arms, was infuriated by what it saw as a betrayal of its close friend, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and drastically scaled back its support. Tehran's Shiite partner, Hezbollah, also voiced its fierce disapproval. But following the ousting of Morsi, removed by the Egyptian military on July 3, political sources said Hamas had had direct and indirect contacts with both Iran and Hezbollah — anxious to revitalize old alliances and restore its battered funding. “Some meetings have taken place ... to clear the air. There is no boycott (of Hamas) but at the same time, things have not yet got back to normal,” said a Palestinian official, with knowledge of discussions, who declined to be named. Moussa Abu Marzouk, former deputy head of Hamas's political office, saw Hezbollah and Iranian officials in Lebanon last month, with other meetings taking place subsequently. “It is in the interest of Hamas today to revise its rapport with Iran and Hezbollah for many reasons,” said Hani Habib, a political analyst based in the Gaza Strip. “At the end of the day, all the parties have an interest in this partnership.” Locked in conflict with arch foe and neighbor Israel, which it refuses to recognize, Hamas has governed the small, densely populated Gaza Strip since 2007 after a brief civil war against its secular rivals. With the Muslim Brotherhood in control of Egypt, Hamas felt it did not have to worry so much about its ties with Iran. Hamas's leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal abandoned his long-time base in Damascus last year because of the civil war that pitted President Assad's forces against rebels. One of the veteran leaders of Hamas, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, said there had never been a suspension of relations with Tehran and Hezbollah, suggesting that contacts may have slowed only because of the recent presidential election in Iran. “We do not yet know the nature of Iran's new policy, but the information we have received, which is not direct, suggests that the old policy will be endorsed by the new administration,” Zahar, a renown hardliner, told Reuters in an interview. Hamas hopes newly installed President Hassan Rohani will open the financial taps again. Diplomats estimated that Iran used to give Hamas some $250 million a year, but one Palestinian official reckoned that only 20 percent of that was now being handed over. Ehud Yaari, a Middle East expert from Israel, put the figure at just 15 percent, with no arms being offered up either. “We have a situation of close to zero arms trafficking through the tunnels into Gaza,” said Yaari. Very little material, weapons or otherwise, is passing at present through the smuggling tunnels that criss-cross the desert border between Egypt and Gaza, with the new rulers in Cairo ordering a clampdown following Morsi's removal. — Reuters
