Hamas is going to pull back from its relationship with Iran, sort of—but only the part that Hamas thinks is not adequate to the task of destroying Israel.
“There is no intention to replace Iran, which remains important,†a Hamas source said. “But much of Iranian guidance was not relevant for us in the war.â€
The sources said Iranian military tactics taught to Hamas in 2008 were ineffective against Israel. They said the Hamas tactics were based on doctrine adopted by the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah, located in the mountainous areas of southern Lebanon. The Gaza Strip is a flat area that is much smaller than Lebanon.
Over the last few months, Hamas has maintained contact with several potential sources of military assistance. The sources identified them as Algeria, Morocco, Sudan and Turkey.
Turkey? Turkey? The erstwhile Muslim ally of the West? The country that wants in on the EU? That Turkey?
The sources said Sudan would provide most of the training for Hamas while serving as a key supplier of weapons. They said Turkey, under the auspices of the ruling Justice and Development Party, has also been quietly training Hamas personnel in security tactics.
“Hamas got 20 academic scholarships for internal security training from Turkey to fight Fatah,†a Hamas military source said.
Yes, that Turkey. The nation that is slowly easing away from its relations with Israel—since the takeover by Islamists over secularists.
As for Sudan, well, Israel’s keeping an eye on Sudan. No wonder the IAF bombed a convoy of arms smugglers. Perhaps it’s time that more nations paid more attention to the disaster that is Sudan, or we’ll have another Afghanistan on our hands.