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Why Some Palestinians Love Soleimani

(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Hamas and Islamic Jihad were quick to mourn the "martyr" Qasem Soleimani, describing his death as a "big loss for Palestine and the Palestinian resistance." They set up a mourning tent for Soleimani in Gaza and the heads of the two groups traveled to Iran to attend his funeral. Their reaction is proof that these groups have long served as Iran's proxies. To justify their public mourning of Soleimani, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have revealed that the Iranian military commander played a major role in helping them develop their military capabilities, particularly regarding the thousands of rockets that were fired into Israel from Gaza in the past decade. Ahmed Abdel Hadi, Hamas' "ambassador" to Lebanon, said on Jan. 9 that thanks to Soleimani's support, rockets fired from Gaza were able to send one million Israelis into bomb shelters. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar said Soleimani "gave the Palestinian armed groups all that they needed to develop their military capabilities. He gave Palestine more than one can imagine," providing Hamas and Islamic Jihad with money and weapons since the early 1990s. By openly aligning themselves with Tehran, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are spitting in the face of Sunni Muslims who view Iran and its Shiite proxies as the true threat to stability in the Middle East. These Arabs claim that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have demonstrated that they care nothing for the thousands of Arabs and Muslims killed by Soleimani's Quds Force. The ongoing cooperation between Iran and the Gaza-based groups poses an imminent threat to Israel, the PA, Egypt, and other Arabs who are opposed to Tehran's expansionist schemes.
2020-01-17 00:00:00
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