November 22, 2008
REPORTING FROM SYRIA
Soldier's seizure may add new pressure on Hamas
DAMASCUS, Syria - The crisis over a kidnapped Israeli soldier in Gaza has extended to Syria.
Israel is using the issue to focus world attention on the Syrian regime's sheltering of Hamas political leaders. On Wednesday, four Israeli warplanes buzzed the summer home of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the coastal city of Latakia - the first Israeli incursion into Syrian airspace in three years. And in recent days, Israeli officials ratcheted up their threats against Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas' political bureau, who lives in Damascus.
"He is not immune, no matter where he is," Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Israeli Army Radio. "He definitely is in our sights."
Ramon blamed Meshaal and other exiled Hamas leaders in Syria for instigating the raid on an Israeli military base Sunday that led to the killing of two soldiers and the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit. But Hamas leaders denied involvement and Israeli officials have provided no public evidence to back up their claim.
As the crisis intensified with Israel sending troops into Gaza, Arab and world leaders have asked Assad to pressure the Hamas leadership to secure the soldier's release. Assad has gotten calls from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. It is unclear how much influence Assad has over the Hamas leaders, or whether he is even inclined to help diffuse the situation.
"The Syrians are well informed about what happens within Hamas," said an Arab diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "But Syria will not interfere openly with any decision that Hamas takes."
Most day-to-day decisions within Hamas are made by its political bureau, which has eight to 10 members who mainly live in exile in Syria. Hamas also has a Shura Council, an internal parliament made up of about 50 members who live both inside and outside Palestinian territories.
The political bureau draws its strength from being Hamas' main fundraising arm and managing relations with Arab and Muslim countries. Some Arab diplomats say that makes Meshaal and his inner circle more pragmatic than the Hamas leadership in the territories. But Israeli and Palestinian officials say Meshaal is less willing to make concessions than the internal Hamas leaders.
Since it won Palestinian legislative elections in January, Hamas has been in a confrontation with the international community. It is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Israel and the West have demanded that it renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state and promise to abide by past peace agreements such as the 1993 Oslo Accords. Hamas leaders have refused.
Hamas political leaders such as Meshaal go to great lengths to explain that they do not issue orders to its military wing, which carries out suicide bombings and other attacks that have killed hundreds of Israelis. But Israel often holds Meshaal responsible.
He rose to prominence in 1997, after surviving an assassination attempt by Israeli agents. He became the group's top leader in 2004 after Israel killed Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin and his successor, Abdel-Aziz Rantissi.
Some analysts say Meshaal ultimately could help secure the soldier's release to bolster his standing. "Meshaal knows when to be conciliatory and when to be tough," said Marwan Kabalan, a political scientist at Damascus University. "He wants Hamas to succeed in the Palestinian government."
Unable to respond militarily to Wednesday's air incursion because of Israel's far superior forces, the Syrian government tried to project an image of internal stability yesterday. There were no protests or public gatherings here in the capital.
There was a lot of rhetoric. "Syria is capable of defending itself if it's exposed to any aggression," Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otari told reporters.
Syria's regime has allowed leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian groups that reject peace with Israel to operate from Damascus for two decades. In turn, Hamas' election victory strengthened Assad in his own confrontation with the United States.
Assad is convinced Israeli leaders will not negotiate a return of the Golan Heights, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war. That is why Damascus sees little incentive to entirely cut its support to Palestinian militants."Hamas feels that it owes a debt to Syria for sheltering its leaders and giving them a base for all these years," the diplomat said. "Both sides need each other."
Mixx it!
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
