Shhhhh, Don't Tell Iran That Hamas Is Leaving Syria...

Hamas knows its time to leave Syria--Hamas just can't afford to say publicly that they are leaving Syria:

Dozens of Hamas operatives have quietly returned to Gaza from Damascus as the Islamist group scales back its presence in Syria and gauges the uncertain future of President Bashar al-Assad, diplomats said on Sunday.


Officially, Hamas leaders are sticking to their denial they plan to quit the Syrian capital, where the group keeps its main headquarters outside the Gaza Strip.

Why is Hamas being so squeamish about leaving Syria?

Because there is someone even terrorists are afraid of--Hamas is afraid of upsetting their financial supporters in Iran:

Iran threatening to cut Hamas funds, arms supply if it flees Syria

"Iran had applied intense pressure to Hamas in an effort to persuade it not to leave Damascus, threatening even to cut off funds to the organization if it did so, Palestinian sources have told Haaretz.

The Iranian pressure also included an unprecedented ultimatum - namely, an explicit threat to stop supplying Hamas with arms and suspend the training of its military activists."

And Hamas knows Iran is not bluffing about holding back support:

In recent years, however, Hamas has found itself in the same position as the PA was back then.

Now it’s the Islamic Jihad organization that has replaced Hamas as the second- largest armed group in the Gaza Strip. Today, it poses a serious challenge to the Hamas government.

With the help of Iran and Syria, Islamic Jihad has become a major player in the Palestinian arena. The organization’s leaders now visit Cairo and other Arab capitals, where they are received as VIPs.

No doubt about it: Iran knows how to terrorize Hamas.
After all, Iran knows that without Syria it will be left without a real ally in the region.

Technorati Tag: Iran and Syria and Hamas.