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Danny Citrinowicz, formerly Iranian research head for Israel’s military intelligence and now a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told DW he did not believe Iran had advanced knowledge of or any play any role in authorizing Hamas’ attack on Israel.
He said that although there was no question that Iran sent money and weapons to Hamas, and helped train its operatives, “Hamas is a Palestinian terrorist movement that is independent, especially in the Gaza Strip.”
“So there is of course the support of Iran to Hamas activity. But, tactically speaking, what we saw today, what we saw in the last couple of days, is an attack carried out by Hamas, operated by Hamas. And Hamas doesn’t need the approval of Iran to launch this attack,” Citrinowicz said.
He also said that comments both from the US and from Gaza officials seemed to support this idea, namely that the attack caught Iran off guard just as it seemed to everybody else.
However, that situation could still change, according to Citrinowicz.
“I’m not saying Iran won’t support Hamas actively in days to come,” he said.
“We are still in the beginning stages of the campaign of Israel against Hamas. And if Hamas will find itself in a dire situation, we cannot rule out that Iran will actively support Hamas, not only by trying to send arms or other elements, but also maybe threatening Israel to stop its activity in Gaza Strip.”
You can also read more about Iran’s ties to Hamas and the potential implications of the latest violence here.
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