Hamas to Move Base Out of Syria
Hamas ordered the departure of nearly all its staff at its Damascus headquarters by next week following pressure from Turkey and Qatar, two regional allies trying to isolate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad amid an eight-month crackdown on antiregime protests, according to a Hamas official.
The Islamic militant group’s parting of ways with Mr. Assad marks the latest blow to his regime. Damascus has hosted Hamas since the Palestinian group was forced out of Jordan in the late 1990s.
Leaving Syria also distances Hamas from Iran, an ally of President Assad that has provided the Palestinian militants with money, training and military hardware. Over recent months, Tehran has urged Hamas not to relocate, the official said.
Hamas will establish new headquarters in Cairo and Qatar to replace its operations in Syria, the official added. At the same time, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss upgrading its presence in the kingdom.
The shift from Syria to Egypt is expected to moderate Hamas’s behavior while reducing Tehran’s ability to threaten clashes with Israel, said Meir Javedanfar, an Iran expert based in Israel, who called the move “a major strategic setback” for Iran.
Hamas officials have for months sought to portray the organization as neutral in the Syrian conflict. But recent progress in Hamas’s rapprochement with Egypt and Jordan has emboldened the militants to accelerate their departure after months of quiet preparations—an operation dubbed by members as “soft exit.”
The Hamas security official said that 90% of the staff will be dispersed to cities around the region, leaving behind a nominal presence in Damascus.
Over recent months, Hamas has been divesting itself of Syrian assets, including business investments, real estate and bank deposits, the Hamas official said.