Senwar's Account of Soleimani's Phone Call: 'All Resources are at Hamas's Disposal'

Yahya Sinwar, the internal leader of Hamas in the Palestinian territories, says that Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran, told him in a recent phone conversation that 'all resources in the battle to defend Jerusalem are at Hamas's disposal.' A voice recording of Yahya Sinwar recounting his conversation with Qassem Soleimani was released on Monday, December 25, by the Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen, aligned with Iran and Hezbollah. According to Yahya Sinwar, Soleimani stated in this conversation that 'the IRGC and the Quds Force are present alongside the Palestinian people in the defense of Jerusalem.' Sinwar added that Soleimani's request was for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and all 'Islamic resistance groups' to dedicate their resources to the defense of Jerusalem. According to this senior Hamas official, both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are in contact with Qassem Soleimani; however, he did not mention the nature of any potential practical cooperation. Five days after Donald Trump announced his decision on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem as 'the capital of Israel' and agreed to begin the process of moving the U.S. embassy to the city, Qassem Soleimani had separate phone conversations with the commanders of the military branches of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Sepah News, which published news of the phone calls on December 20, did not mention the names of the commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and the Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who were addressed by Qassem Soleimani in these conversations. However, the Fars News Agency, close to the IRGC, confirmed on January 25 that the Quds Force commander announced 'the Islamic Republic of Iran's readiness for comprehensive support of the Islamic resistance forces in Palestine' during those calls. The Tadbir website, affiliated with the Iranian government, also reported that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a phone conversation on December 20 with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, told him that Iran 'will always stand by Palestine.' Iran, the Palestinians, and a large part of the international community have expressed dissatisfaction with Trump's decision regarding Jerusalem; the United Nations General Assembly also effectively rejected this decision in a resolution with the approval of 128 countries on December 21. Hamas, in its initial reaction to the U.S. president's decision, called on Palestinians for an 'intifada'; in the three Fridays following the announcement of this decision, the contact lines between Gaza and the West Bank with Israel witnessed deadly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. Since the selection of the new leadership of Hamas in recent months, the movement's relations with Iran, which had cooled over the Syrian war, have warmed, and Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas, has visited Iran three times in a short period with delegations. In this context, it seems that the U.S. decision regarding Jerusalem has provided new motivation for Iran and Hamas to rekindle their relations and cooperation.