WarSclerotic

Hamas Says It Would Stay Out of Any Iran-Israel War – WSJ.com.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—A spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas rulers said Wednesday that the militant group wouldn’t strike Israel if there were a war between Iran and the Jewish state.

In a further sign of the weakening of Iran’s regional influence, Fawzi Barhoum said in an interview with the Associated Press that Hamas’s weapons are “humble” and meant for defending Palestinians. Hamas doesn’t have the ability to be “part of any regional war,” he said.

Mr. Barhoum’s comments might lessen Israeli concerns that if war erupted, the Iran-allied Hamas would fire rockets at Israel. Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the years.

While Hamas’s remaining silent wouldn’t remove the missile threat on Israeli targets from Iran, it would free up Israel’s military from having to fight on a southern front.

For years, Israel has counted Hamas as an Iranian proxy. Since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the organization has received military and financial assistance from Tehran.

However, the recent turmoil in Syria opened up a rift: Tehran has been backing President Bashar al-Assad, but Hamas has expressed solidarity with demonstrators and relocated its Damascus headquarters to capitals of Western-allied Arab states.

But even if Hamas stayed out of the fighting, the more powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon could attack Israel alongside Iran.

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