Hamas Prime Minister To Visit Iran

By JTA February 1, 2012

Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip, will visit Iran.

Haniyeh is going to Tehran at the invitation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid reports that relations between Hamas and Iran have soured because of Hamas’ failure to publicly support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy forces.

Haniyeh arrived Monday in Qatar and also will be traveling to Kuwait and Bahrain before visiting Iran. Earlier this month he visited Egypt, Turkey, Sudan and Tunisia – part of Hamas’ bid to identify with the popular protests that have swept the region and to consolidate Muslim support.

Khaled Meshaal, the leader in exile of the terrorist group, met Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Hamas wants to re-establish its base in Jordan, but its officials told Meshaal this was not going to happen, the Associated Press reported. Jordan banned the group six years ago for illicit activities, including storing a weapons cache.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO