Posted on 12/04/2018 12:51:39 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov told the Times of Israel on Nov. 9 that Russia does not view Hamas a terrorist group, but consider it part of Palestinian society. We are keeping contacts with Hamas, he added, saying the group is a legitimate political force in Palestine.
Viktorov said labeling Hamas as a terrorist group undermines the political process, suggesting that the movement should be involved in a possible political solution. He further said that Israel should engage with Hamas.
These statements are important for two reasons. First, the Russian ambassador is in Tel Aviv and represents the policy of Russia, a permanent UN Security Council member. Second, the statements came from the heart of Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist organization that engages in armed conflict, the most recent being the Nov. 12-13 escalation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Husam Badran, a member of Hamas political bureau in charge of its international relations who resides in Qatar, told Al-Monitor, The Russian stance is part of an increasing international conviction of Hamas role and importance and its impact on the Palestinian arena. Russia is a major country that realized this fact early on, and it is dealing with us on that basis. The Palestinian cause cannot be settled without our participation or approval. Our relations with Moscow were not born yesterday, and we have ongoing visits between us as Russia seeks a positive role in the Palestinian cause and this is what we want from this relationship.
Hamas has sought to organize periodic visits to Moscow, most recently in June through a delegation headed by Mousa Abu Marzouk...
(Excerpt) Read more at al-monitor.com ...
Related: Russia-Palestine trade soars 61% in first eight months of 2018
http://tass.com/economy/1029742
Idiotic article.
Russia is literally at war against Hamas inside Syria.
Russia is pro-Assad. Hamas is anti-Assad.
Hamas was anti-Assad/Syria govt until recently. After realizing that they were on the losing side (the Jihadists’), they’ve asked for forgiveness & are trying to make up.
Hamas even sent operatives to help the Jihadists in Syria. They built a very good tunnel network there.
“He further said that Israel should engage with Hamas.”
From what I’ve seen, Israel has been ‘engaging’ Hamas quite a bit, so I agree there.
“Related: Russia-Palestine trade soars 61% in first eight months of 2018”
Looking at the numbers, that would mean that Russia bought 161 dates in the first 8 months of 2018, as opposed to only buying 100 dates in the first 8 months of 2017. Definitely a HUGE increase, but from a near-zero baseline.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha...
Anyone else remember when Hamas (or was it Hezbullah) kidnapped and/or killed some sovietsky...
The story was the KGB in turn kidnapped multiple sons of some sheik, fed them their own testicles and then sent the bodies back to daddy.
No one screwed with Russians for a while...
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