BICOM

The Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement is currently scaling back its presence in Syria. The movement denies allegations that this is part of a larger effort on its part to realign away from the Iran-led regional bloc while seeking new patrons in the Arab world. In response to Hamas’s moves, according to a report in today’s Haaretz, Iran has now issued an explicit threat to cut its funding of the organisation, to cease arms supplies and to end its training of Hamas military activists. Hamas spokesmen deny that the thinning out of its presence in Syria has larger implications – noting that the top Hamas leadership remains in the country. However, the Haaretz report notes that mid-level officials associated with the movement’s military wing have quit Syria in the recent period, relocating with their families to a number of destinations, including the Hamas-ruled enclave in Gaza, Sudan, Qatar and Lebanon.