Editor’s Note – Not only are they leaving Damascus, they are off to Tehran for instructions. It is well known now that Iran, the grand chess master and puppeteer is controlling Hamas and Hezbollah. With Syria deteriorating under the feet of Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s other puppet, new directions seem necessary. Watch closely, and know, its all about Iran…the “Arab-Spring” and democracy are not what they seem.
Hamas Leader Khaled Mashaal Flees Damascus
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has fled Damascus together with his family, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reports.
By Chana Ya’ar
Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal has fled Damascus together with his family, according to a report published Sunday by the London-based al-Hayat newspaper.
The report, quoted by state-run Voice of Israel radio, added that a number of other Hamas leaders and their families had also fled the Syrian capital. The entire group has reportedly taken refuge in Jordan, according to the report.
Another source likewise told the al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that Jordan has agreed to accept all of the Hamas families from Damascus — but only on condition they will not engage in any political activity in the country.
“Jordan’s agreements with Israel do not allow it to be entirely open to Hamas, and the Hashemite Kingdom will not let the movement reopen its offices there,” the source told the newspaper.
Relations between Jordan and Hamas, at one time less than cordial, have since been “normalized,” the source said, following meetings held in the past few weeks between government officials and the terrorist leaders.
The prospect of having to make a sudden departure from Damascus was one that Mashaal had been forced to contemplate for the past several months, as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad slowly loses his iron grip on the armed forces that have until this year served him unquestioningly.
There have been increasing numbers of soldiers abandoning their posts and defecting to the opposition as the country’s burgeoning civil war grows ever more bloody. More than 5,000 people — nearly all of them unarmed — have been murdered by Assad’s troops since the anti-government “Arab Spring” grassroots uprising began in mid-March, according to United Nations estimates. Thousands more have been wounded, among them many who have been tortured after being arbitrarily arrested — including children — and some who have then “disappeared.”
Most of the clashes occurred in hotspots such as the central city of Homs, and other spots like Idlib, Dera’a and Hama. But last month the rivers of blood finally began to seep into the capital, Damascus, as well, with an attack on the nation’s intelligence headquarters and then clashes in a local neighborhood.
While the Syrian capital has long been home to the Hamas political bureau, even Mashaal could see that the possible impending demise of his long-time patron meant his lease was up and it was time to go.
A report in the al-Hayat newspaper less than two weeks ago quoted a source that said all leading Hamas officials had already made it out of the country, except for Mashaal. Hamas second-in-command Moussa Abu Marzouk was in Amman at that time, where officials warned his presence was conditional on refraining from political or media activity. Hamas was based in Jordan years ago, but moved to Damascus after an alleged Israeli assassination attempt. Mashaal had been scheduled to visit Amman on Friday.
Ayatollah Khamanei and Khaled Mash'al
Hamas Leaders Due in Iran in Days
TEHRAN (FNA)- Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mash’al and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh plan to pay a visit to Tehran during the next few days, a senior Hamas official said on Sunday.
Speaking to FNA, Haniyeh’s Deputy and Hamas Foreign Minister Mohammed Awad said that Haniyeh’s visit to Iran is due to take place as part of his tour of Muslim nations that started last Sunday.
Hamas Prime Minister, for the first time since 2007, left the Gaza Strip last Sunday on a tour that takes him to a number of Arab and Islamic countries, including Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia and Bahrain.
Awad, however, said that the exact date of Haniyeh’s visit to Tehran will be announced later.
Meantime, Palestine daily quoted Yusuf Rezqah, an advisor to Haniyeh, as saying that Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mash’al and Ismail Haniyeh would accompany each other in upcoming visits to Iran and Turkey at the head of a Hamas delegation.
Haniyeh’s regional tour began three days after Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, met in Cairo to thrash out implementation of a surprise deal they signed in April.
