Amid growing Syria tensions, Hamas leader says there are many options for where to move group's operation center, Egypt is one of them.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEHMahmoud al-Zahar smirking (R) 311(photo credit: Reuters)
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar announced on Friday that he is considering the possibility of moving the group's headquarters from Damascus in Syria to Cairo in Egypt."All the Palestinians in Syria are in distress, and it's not just Hamas," Zahar said. "When it comes down to where the headquarters of the organization are located, there are many options and Egypt is one of them," he continued.RELATED:Arab Affairs: The revolt at Yarmuk refugee campShin Bet nabs dozens of West Bank-based Hamas membersThis is not the first time that reports have surfaced about Hamas moving its headquarters out of Syria. In April, the group said it had no plans to move its headquarters from Damascus to Qatar because of the unrest in Syria.“Hamas is continuing to carry out its work in Damascus,” said Izat Risheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau. “There is no change on our status in Syria.”The London-based pan Arab daily Al-Hayat reported that Syria asked Hamas to leave the country and that Qatar only agreed to receive the movement’s political leadership The report claimed that Egypt and Jordan refused to receive the Hamas leadership.The paper said that the decision to ask Hamas to leave Syria came in response to the movement’s support for the popular uprising in that country.
