The Hamas prime minister on Feb. 24 expressed support for Syrian protesters seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad, the first time a senior Hamas leader has publicly rebuked the group’s longtime patron. Ismail Haniyeh said after Friday prayers at Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque that Hamas commends “the brave Syrian people that are moving toward democracy and reform.”
In Friday’s speech, Haniyeh asked the Muslim and Arab world to defend Jerusalem against what he portrayed as Israeli attempts to weaken the Arab identity of the city. With tears in his eyes, he recited an Arabic poem that says that the path to Jerusalem starts in Cairo. Several Brotherhood members stood by Haniyeh as he addressed thousands of worshippers crammed into the ancient mosque, pledging support for the Palestinians and for Hamas.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has said he is ready to embrace nonviolent protests as part of reconciliation with the rival Fatah movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.