Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, says the Islamic Republic of Iran paid $70 million to the Palestinian movement to build its “deterrent force” against Israel, and that rockets produced by Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip were part of that ” strategic power”.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera Arabic on Sunday, January 2, he named a few plans of the militant group’s, from digging offensive tunnels to attack Israel to construction of other military weapons, and said that Iran’s financial assistance to the militant group changed the military arrangement in Gaza.
In a telephone call and message to Hamas leaders inside and outside Hamas in early December 2017, Qassem Soleimani stressed that “all facilities are at Hamas’ disposal.” In January of last year, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official, praised Qassem Soleimani, saying that members of the group received $22 million in cash during a trip to Tehran on Soleimani’s orders. He said: “And we could not carry more than that, because each suitcase could only hold 40 kilograms.”
Ismail Haniyeh, who spoke to Al-Jazeera television, continued: “Our relations with Iran are not a new issue and have been stable for the past 30 years, and we have been represented in Iran since 1990.” Iran has provided financial support for the resistance’s defense strategy, and the long-range missiles we have had since 2009 belong to Iran.
Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal, the former head of Hamas’ political bureau, and a number of other leaders of the Brotherhood Islamist movement have lived and worked in Doha, Qatar, for years under the auspices of the emir.
