Hamas, Saudis to Work Together Against ISIS?
There's no love lost between Hamas and Saudi Arabia, but a common enemy may bring the two together.
By Yaakov Levi
First Publish: 7/16/2015, 10:22 AM
Hamas and Saudi Arabia may have their disagreements on Iran but a common enemy could bring the two together.
On Thursday, reports said that Hamas top terrorist Khaled Mashaal was on a three day visit to Riyadh to meet top Saudi officials, where they will discuss the threat Islamic State poses to each.
ISIS has threatened Hamas numerous times, claiming it is not “Islamic enough” because it has failed to impose shari'a Koranic law on Gaza.
The terror organization has also threatened Saudi Arabia because, despite its Wahhabi fundamentalist version of Islam, it too is not deemed sufficiently loyal to the teachings of the religion.
Saudi Arabia has supported the US-led coalition bombing ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, but the Saudis are interested in raising an army that will fight against ISIS directly – and Hamas could supply the personnel needed,analysts said.
The decision to reengage with Hamas was made personally by King Salman Abd el-Aziz, despite misgivings over the move because of Iran's support of the group. Another reason for those misgivings has been Saudi Arabia's opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot.
The Saudis have also sought recently to lower the tension between Hamas and Egypt.
Egypt just removed Hamas from its list of terror groups, despite the fact that Hamas, Cairo believes, is actively supporting the Islamists in Sinai who have been attempting to take over the peninsula.
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