Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, said that a top Iranian military commander has pledged his country’s full resources and support in any future battle for Jerusalem.
“All our of capabilities and potential are at your disposal in the battle for the defense of Jerusalem,” Sinwar said Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite Quds Force, told him over the phone.
The statements by the Hamas leader regarding the Quds Force commander were broadcast on Monday by pro-Iranian Lebanese news outlet al-Mayadeen.
According to Sinwar, Soleimani asserted that “Iran, the Revolutionary Guards and Quds Force stand with all they have with our people in order to defend Jerusalem so that Jerusalem will endure as the capital of the state of Palestine.”
Sinwar also said that Soleimani was in contact with the leadership of the military branches of both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The statements come on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement earlier this month that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that Washington would move its embassy there.
Hamas has been pushing for a new uprising since Trump’s statement. [source]
Information in this article helps satisfy Priority Intelligence Requirement 2: What is the current situation report and risk of war in each of the four flashpoints? To subscribe to one of our threat intelligence newsletters: Click here.
