Hamas furthers Iran's plan to extend control in Syria

In recent months, relations between the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Iran-backed Syrian regime have slowly been warming, as the Iranian regime seeks to use the group to further its agenda in Syria, analysts tell Diyaruna.

Although relations between the two groups had cooled since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, the Iranian regime considers Hamas the "Sunni wing of the Iranian project in the region" and has been financing it for years, they said.

Iran is now pushing for warmer relations, they said, so Hamas can play a role in its plan to protract the war and extend its control in region, as it has sought to do via Lebanon's Hizbullah, Yemen's Houthis (Ansarallah) and militias in Iraq.

"Iran has established many proxy groups loyal to it in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, as well as cells in other countries such as the Gulf states and Egypt," said Al-Sharq Centre for Regional and Strategic Studies researcher Fathi al-Sayed, who specialises in Iranian affairs.

This is part of the Iranian regime's quest to extend its influence in the Middle East through intervention in various conflicts, he told Diyaruna.

The Iranian regime has acted "shrewdly" in dealing with the sectarian issue, al-Sayed said, "and is strongly backing Hamas in Gaza and working to control the movement's decision-making process with regard to the Palestinian and regional situation".

"The movement became the Sunni arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the region, despite the fact that the movement is politically tied to other parties and countries," he said.

"It seems clear from the actions of Hamas in Syria that it is involved in the obvious Iranian plan aimed at prolonging the ongoing war," he added.

Warming Hamas-regime relations

For several years since the beginning of the war in 2011, Hamas took a friendly stance towards al-Nusra Front (ANF), also known as Fatah al-Sham Front, in the areas where it has a presence, especially in Palestinian refugee camps such as Yarmouk and Handarat, said Aleppo-based media activist Faisal al-Ahmad.

The group's co-operation with ANF, a sworn enemy of the Syrian regime, in Yarmouk was no secret, he told Diyaruna, but was disrupted when the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) entered the camp and "toppled all the armed factions, Syrian and Palestinian".

Hamas and ANF engaged in larger-scale co-operation in Handarat in the face of ISIL advances, he said, adding that camp residents tried to object to this alliance more than once, only to be quickly suppressed by ANF.

However, in recent months, Hamas has taken a more pro-regime stance. On September 24th, Syrian regime forces quickly regained control of the camp, expelling ANF fighters.

"The speed with which regime forces recently advanced and entered the camp raises many questions", al-Sayed from al-Sharq Centre said, noting that the camp is one of just a few areas in Aleppo that the regime has been able to penetrate very quickly.

"This suggests an Iranian intervention with Hamas that prompted the movement to withdraw from the camp to ensure a reshuffling of the cards and provide support for the regime in newly seized areas," al-Sayed added.

Al-Quds Brigades

The immersion of Hamas in the conflict in Syria remains a delicate subject, said terror group specialist and retired Egyptian military officer Maj. Gen. Wael Abdul Muttalib.

The Palestinian movement is fully supported by Iran as the "Sunni wing of the Iranian project in the region", he told Diyaruna, adding that "co-operation with Hamas and Hizbullah has always been unveiled and out in the open".

Co-operation between Hamas and the Syrian regime is very evident, he said.

"Some Hamas elements remain in Syria, in regime-controlled areas near Damascus," he said. "They are the elements who left Yarmouk camp and were merged with armed groups fighting in the area alongside Hizbullah and regime forces."

Military co-operation between Hamas and regime forces is taking place "through a regime-backed military group under the name of al-Quds Brigades", he said.

This is comprised of Palestinian groups "affiliated with various movements that remain loyal to the regime and operate under a joint operations room that directs battles for Hizbullah and the [Syrian] army", he said.

Al-Quds Brigades are under the direct command of Syrian army officers and receive funding from the regime as well as the IRGC, Abdul Muttalib said, noting that there are an estimated 3,000 Palestinian fighters in the brigades.

"The Syrian regime has resorted to using these factions, and Hamas in particular, due to its numerical weakness," he said.