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Khaled Meshal: Hamas in Damascus — Syria's Palestinian Card
For 13 years Hamas ran its political operations from Damascus. Syria provided the base; Hamas provided the legitimacy of hosting Palestinian resistance. The Syrian civil war forced them apart.
Confirmed1 chapters1956— 2024
The Syria-Hamas relationship illustrates the transactional nature of Assad's 'Axis of Resistance': it had nothing to do with shared ideology (the secular Ba'ath hosting the Islamist Hamas) and everything to do with mutual strategic benefit. When the civil war made that relationship a liability, both sides found ways to end it — though Hamas and Hezbollah have since rebuilt ties under Iranian pressure.
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Chapter 01leadership01 / 01
1999—2012Damascus / Doha
13 Years of Hamas in Damascus — Then the Syrian Civil War
1999–2012 — Damascus / Doha
After Hamas was expelled from Jordan in 1999, Khaled Meshal moved the Hamas political leadership to Damascus. Assad provided offices, residences, travel documents, and political cover. The relationship worked because it served both parties: Syria gained legitimacy as the protector of Palestinian resistance, and Hamas gained a stable headquarters safe from Israeli or Western pressure. Syria facilitated the movement of Iranian funds and weapons to Hamas in Gaza through the Damascus hub. Meshal attended Assad family events; Bashar al-Assad spoke publicly about his 'brothers in Hamas.' When the Syrian uprising began in 2011 and the regime began killing Sunni civilians — the same population base as Hamas's constituency — Meshal faced a catastrophic contradiction. He could not publicly support a regime massacring Sunnis. By 2012, Hamas quietly relocated its political bureau to Doha, Qatar. Syria-Hamas ties were suspended. The move broke one link in the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas quadrilateral.
Confirmed(94%)Sensitivity: high
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