http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/secure/2011/05_04/do.as p
Hamas finds 'itself in a predicament' over the revolution in Syria http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/images/2011/mashaal1.jp g The report said Hamas was torn between loyalty to the Muslim Brotherhood and dependence on Hamas's safe haven in Damascus. _____ . Task: Main leader of Hamas since the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004 . Religion: Sunni Islam TEL AVIV - The Israeli intelligence community has determined that Hamas is divided over the revolt in Syria. A report by an Israeli intelligence agency asserted that Hamas has seen internal battles over the revolt against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The open-source Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center said Hamas was torn between loyalty to the Muslim Brotherhood and dependence on Hamas's safe haven in Damascus. "Hamas has found itself in a predicament over the clash between its solidarity with Muslim Brotherhood elements in Syria interested in toppling the regime, as well as with Sheik [Yusef] Al Qaradawi's attack on Bashar Assad, and its dependence on the assistance provided by the Assad regime to its infrastructure and terrorist activity," the report said. The report, dated April 11, said the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria was playing a major role in the revolt in Syria. But the Brotherhood, fearing a massacre by Assad's forces, has maintained a low profile and instead was using the pan-Arab media to foment unrest. Al Qaradawi's opposition to Assad has embarrassed Hamas. The report said Al Qaradawi marked a "primary religious" inspiration for Hamas. "On one hand, the Hamas leadership, headed by Khaled Masha'al, operates from Damascus, with the approval and supervision of the Syrian regime," the report said. "It is from there that it coordinates Hamas' activity in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere, and receives military aid from Syria and Iran, its ally. Furthermore, thinking ahead Hamas needs to take into account that complete identification with the Assad regime may compromise it if and when it is toppled." http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/images/2011/mashaal3.jp g Syrian anti-government protesters in Banias during the 'Day of Rage' in a photo supplied to AFP by sources. <http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo/110429/photos_ts_wl_afp/7fd70 fe7b8c1ba6e56bd27bd7522053b/> AFP _____ Masha'al, head of Hamas's political bureau, has defended the Assad regime. Masha'al also criticized Al Qaradawi's support for the revolt in Syria, expressed in a sermon on March 25. "This conduct by Hamas and the strong rivalry between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian regime harbor a potential for tensions between them, in our assessment," the report said. The Israeli agency said tensions within Hamas could grow as the revolt expands throughout Syria. The report cited the denial of Masha'al's statement by Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan. On April 2, the Hamas leadership said it supported "both the Syrian leadership and the Syrian people." The leadership said the unrest of Syria represented a domestic affair. "In the announcement, Hamas avoided taking a definite, firm stand for the Syrian regime, expressing implicit support both for the regime and, implicitly, for the anti-regime demonstrators," the report said. Meanwhile, Egypt was expected to reconcile with the Hamas regime in the neighboring Gaza Strip, a report said. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy said that the new military regime in Cairo was cooperating with the Islamic opposition, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. The report, authored by Israeli analyst Ehud Yaari, said the Brotherhood was growing stronger and would lobby form an Egyptian reconciliation with Hamas. "The organization's growing power, combined with policy statements by potential presidential candidates, seems to indicate that Egypt's next leaders will adopt a new policy toward Hamas in the Gaza Strip," the report, titled "The Arab Revolutions: An Israeli Perspective," said. The report said the Brotherhood plans to heighten its profile in wake of the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Yaari, a longtime journalist and expert on Arab affairs, said the Brotherhood would no longer be restrained by the State Security Investigations, disbanded in March. "The Brotherhood is becoming bolder by the day," the report said. "It will certainly use its clout to contest about a quarter of the seats in the parliament, as well as to influence the outcome of the presidential race." Egypt has maintained tense relations with Hamas since it overthrew the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then, Egypt closed its border terminal for most of the last four years, destroyed weapons tunnels and established a steel underground barrier. In wake of Mubarak's ouster, Egypt was expected to return the military to the Sinai Peninsula. So far, Israel has allowed the deployment of at least three battalions in the demilitarized areas of Sinai in an attempt to regain control over Bedouin tribes. Still, the Egyptian Army has vacated positions in central Sinai and was securing the northern coastal road and toward the Gulf of Aqaba. The report said the Sinai was becoming a "wild frontier, a safe haven for local arms smugglers and migrating jihadist groups." "Hamas is taking advantage of this situation by developing its network of allies among the armed tribes with the intention of mounting terrorist attacks against Israel via the peninsula," the report said. "Iran and Hizbullah are also redoubling their efforts to gain a solid foothold there." Still, Egypt was discussing with Hamas the permanent reopening of the Rafah terminal with the Gaza Strip. The report said the Hamas portfolio was assigned to Gen. Murad Muwafi, who replaced Omar Suleiman as head of General Intelligence. Muwafi, a former governor of North Sinai, had been dealing with Hamas issues on a daily basis. "These activities would only accelerate if Cairo changed its official policy toward the Hamas regime in Gaza," the report said. The report said Israel might be forced to battle Hamas without Egyptian cooperation. Yaari envisioned the prospect that Israel would even conduct incursions into Sinai to stop Hamas rocket and other attacks from Sinai. "In light of these factors, Israel may soon face a major dilemma: how to foil terrorist attacks emanating from the Sinai e.g., new attempts to lob missiles at Eilat if Egypt proves unwilling or unable to do so," the report said. 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